WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Senior Athell Bennett secured his highest-ranked win of the season on Sunday, but the Purdue men's tennis team fell to No. 3 Florida 6-1 to snap a five-match winning streak.
Purdue nearly took the opening doubles point, showing intense resiliency against two of the top-ranked pairings in the nation. Sebastian Welch and Tomasz Dudek kept a close match at No. 3, dropping the set 6-4 to Josh Goodger and Duarte Vale. Michal Wozniak and Mateo Julio came back from a 4-1 deficit to force a tiebreak with No. 24 Johannes Ingildsen and Will Grant at No. 2, but the Gators held the Purdue pair off for a 7-6(5) win.
At No. 1, Athell Bennett and Julian Saborio pushed No. 13-ranked Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice to the brink in a match that went unfinished 6-6 (2-3).
The Boilermakers kept up the intensity and continued to challenge the talented Gator team.
Athell Bennett, the No. 30 player in the nation in the recent ORACLE/ITA poll, needed a super tiebreak to defeat No. 4 Sam Riffice at the top of the order 6-2, 5-7, 10-8. Bennett now has two wins against top-10 opponents this spring, including a road win against No. 5 Richard Ciamarra from Notre Dame on Jan. 20.
PURDUE (6-4) 1, FLORIDA (9-1) 6
SINGLES
1. No. 30 Athell Bennett (PUR) def. No. 4 Sam Riffice (FLA) 6-2, 5-7, 10-8
2. No. 11 Duarte Vale (FLA) def. Mateo Julio (PUR) 6-2, 6-1
3. Andy Andrade (FLA) def. Michal Wozniak 6-3, 6-4
4. Josh Goodger (FLA) def. Maksymilian Raupuk 6-4, 6-4
5. No. 90 Lukas Grief (FLA) def. Sebastian Welch (PUR) 6-2, 6-2
6. No. 112 Blaise Bicknill (FLA) def. Julian Saborio (PUR) 6-2, 6-1
DOUBLES
1. Athell Bennett/Julian Saborio (PUR) vs. No. 13 Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (FLA) 6-6 Unfinished
2. No. 24 Johannes Inglidsen/Will Grant (FLA) def. Michal Wozniak/Mateo Julio (PUR) 7-6(5)
3. Josh Goodger/Duarte Vale (FLA) def. Sebastian Welch/Tomasz Dudek (PUR) 6-4
Singles Order: 6, 2, 5, 4, 1, 3
Doubles Order: 3, 2
UP NEXT
Purdue will be back in action in a doubleheader Feb. 15 in Schwartz Tennis Center. The Boilermakers will face Marquette at 10 a.m. followed by Butler at 6 p.m.
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