April 8, 2000
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - What was supposed to be a confidence booster for the Purdue men's tennis team turned ugly as the Boilermakers fell 4-3 to Michigan State in a close match at East Lansing Saturday. Purdue head Tim Madden could only describe the day as disappointing.
"The words that come to mind first are disappointing loss," Madden said. "We came in with a lot of confidence and wanted to put the pieces together for a successful weekend. I feel at this point in the season Michigan State is a must win to increase confidence."
The Boilers began the day well by sweeping the doubles competition with three wins. Evan Hays managed to get into the lineup at No. 3 with Derek Miller to claim an 8-5 victory over Mark Finding and Francisco Trinidad.
In singles action, Purdue's Jason Marshall and Scott Mayer were able to pick up wins at the No. 1 and 4 spots, respectively. But Michigan State battled back to victories in four of the six singles matches to get a win for the day.
Sunday the Boilermakers will travel to Ann Arbor to face the No. 20 ranked Michigan Wolverines at 1 p.m. Marshall's singles match will be an important one, as it may determine a spot in the NCAA championship for singles.
Michigan State 4, Purdue 3
Singles
No. 1 Jason Marshall (PU) def. Ken Kigongo (MSU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 Robert Topalo (MSU) def. Derek Miller (PU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Ivica Primorac (MSU) def. Andrew Wakefield (PU), 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 Francisco Trinidad (MSU) def. Carl McCafferty (PU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
No. 5 Scott Mayer (PU) def. Goran Topalo (MSU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 Jimmy McGuire (MSU) def. Laith Al-Agba (PU), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 Marshall/Wakefield (PU) def. Kigongo/Primorac (MSU), 8-3
No. 2 Al-Agba/Mayer (PU) def. McGuire/Townsend (MSU), 8-3
No. 3 Hays/Miller (PU) def. Finding/Trinidad (MSU), 8-5