Jan. 26, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team found a way to carry over its solid doubles play into singles, and reaped a 6-1 season-opening victory over Butler as a result. The Boilermakers took advantage of their first match at the Lafayette Sports Center, to which they will not return until March 1.
Purdue head coach Tim Madden was pleased but saw room for improvement following the match with the Bulldogs, who had already played three matches heading into today's contest.
"I think it was clear that Butler had played a few matches and this was our first," Madden said. "I think we are thinking a little too much out there, and I believe we need to more decisive. But it's a good start for us and good things happened."
Madden was most pleased with the play of junior Scott Mayer and senior Dan Swan, who picked up a 9-8 doubles victory over Butler's Jimmy Borendame and Brandon Currie.
"Currie and Borendame compliment each other very well," Madden said. "Currie has so much power, it is nearly impossible to break his serve. Borendame has all of the energy and the intangibles. Having Scott and Dan play above that was a big win for them, and hopefully they gained confidence from it."
That was one of three doubles victories for Purdue, which gave the Boilermakers the doubles point. According to Mayer, winning that best-of-three point was critical to Purdue's success.
"Doubles is important because we try to carry over what we do there into singles," Mayer said. "Today we got off to a great start and made sure we finished."
Mayer did his part in carrying over his energy from doubles into singles. Playing at the No. 1 spot, Mayer defeated Currie 7-6, 7-6.
"Scott did a very good job of taking control of the net," Madden said. "He just had to stay mentally strong. I give him a lot of credit. That was a very good win for him today."
Junior Andrew Wakefield was a 7-6, 6-3 winner at No. 2 singles over Borendame.
Sophomore Troy Havens won 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 4 slot over Peter Voelz. Senior Laith Al-Agba defeated Abel Contreras 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5, and freshman David Robinson was a 6-2, 5-3 winner over Alex Kurz at No. 6.
In addition to the Swan/Mayer win, Purdue received doubles victories from Al-Agba and junior Carl McCafferty at No. 2, and senior Derek Miller and Wakefield at No. 3.
The Boilermakers, now 1-0, next play against Pepperdine in Champaign, Ill., on Feb. 1. They open the Big Ten season on Feb. 2 at Northwestern.
PURDUE 6, BUTLER 1
Singles 1. Scott Mayer (PU) def. Brandon Currie (BU) 7-6, 7-6 2. Andrew Wakefield (PU) def. Jimmy Borendame (BU) 7-6, 6-3 3. Josh Rey (BU) def. Derek Miller (PU) 7-6, 6-7, 10-8 4. Troy Havens (PU) def. Peter Voelz (BU) 6-2, 6-4 5. Laith Al-Agba (PU) def. Abel Contreras (BU) 6-2, 6-3 6. David Robinson (PU) def. Alex Kurz (BU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles 1. Mayer/Dan Swan (PU) def. Borendame/Currie (BU) 9-8 2. Al-Agba/Carl McCafferty (PU) def. Aubrey Annan/Rey (BU) 8-6 3. Miller/Wakefield (PU) def. Contreras/Voelz (BU) 8-4
- P -