Feb. 2, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -Purdue men's tennis players Andrew Wakefield and Dan Swan went undefeated in the first road match of the season against Pepperdine today. Unfortunately, the Boilermaker victories did not carry over to a team triumph, resulting in a 5-2 loss to the Waves.
Purdue head coach Tim Madden was a little shaken by the loss, but was pleased that his team did not lose its competitive edge or self-confidence.
"When you play a top 10 team like this, you try to build confidence in yourself and play to win," Madden says. "I really thought our team enjoyed the fight and had fun at the competition today."
Wakefield did his part in creating tactical opportunities that gave Purdue points early on. The Boilermaker teamed up with senior Derek Miller to defeat Pepperdine's Johan Berg and Brian Wright 8-6 at No. 3.
In addition to the Miller/Wakefield win, Purdue received a doubles victory from Swan and junior Scott Mayer. The Boilermakers defeated Pepperdine's Sebastien Graeff and Calle Hansen 8-5 at No.1.
At No. 2 doubles, the Wave's Stefan Suter and Al Garland defeated Purdue senior Laith Al-Agba and junior Carl McCafferty 8-5.
Although there were some disappointments, Madden believes his team will move on and will handle the pressure better when it travels to No. 45 Northwestern on Feb. 2.
"Our job tomorrow is to make sure to play to win because it's our first Big Ten match, and I think we should feel like we need to win," Madden says. "I think we should handle the pressure better at Northwestern and the excitement should be fun for everybody."
In singles action, Wakefield won 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 3 slot over Calle Hansen. Junior Scott Mayer lost 6-3, 6-3 to Al Garland in the No. 1 slot, at No.2, Pepperdine's Stefan Suter defeated McCafferty 6-1, 6-1.
The Boilermakers, now 1-1, travels to Northwestern tomorrow in Evanston, Ill. They will open the Big Ten season against the Wildcats at 3 p.m.
No. 8 Pepperdine 5, Purdue 2
Singles1. Al Garland (P) def. Scott Mayer (PU) 6-3, 6-32. Stefan Suter (P) def. Carl McCafferty (PU) 6-1, 6-13. Andrew Wakefield (PU) def. Calle Hansen (P) 4-6, 6-3, 6-34. Steve Racioopi (P) def. Derek Miller (PU) 6-3, 7-65. Johan Berg (P) def. Troy Havens (PU) 7-5, 6-36. Diego Acuna (P) def. David Robinson (PU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles1. Scott Mayer/Dan Swan (PU) def. Sebastien Graeff/Hansen 8-52. Stefan Suter/Al Garland (P) def. Laith Al-Agba/Carl McCafferty (PU) 8-53. Derek Miller/Andrew Wakefield (PU) def. Johan Berg/Brian Wright (P) 8-6
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