April 6, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team took advantage of its first outdoor match this season and reaped a 4-3 victory over No. 20 Minnesota at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The victory evens the Boilermakers' overall record to 8-8 and improves their Big Ten record to 3-2.
The Boilermakers opened up the match by winning the No. 1 and 2 doubles spots to get the first point. Junior Scott Mayer and senior Dan Swan defeated Minnesota's Thomas Haug and Eric Robertson 8-4, while senior Laith Al-Agba and junior Carl McCafferty secured an 8-2 victory at No. 2 over Reven Stephens and Manuel Lievano.
Coach Tim Madden was thrilled with the Boilermakers' performance early on in doubles.
"Minnesota is so talented throughout their lineup," Madden said. "So I really thought we needed to get up early in our doubles and we did."
The Boilermakers looked even sharper as they carried their momentum from doubles into singles, claiming three of the six matches.
McCafferty came through with a 6-2, 6-2 win against the Gophers' Chris Wettengel at No. 3.
After Purdue dropped the No. 1, 4 and 5 singles matches, senior Derek Miller put his experience to use in taking a 7-6, 7-5 victory at No. 2 against Minnesota's Aleksey Zharinov, who is currently ranked in the latest ITA poll.
"We both played well and we had a good match," Miller said. "I felt I had to do a little bit more with the ball than he did. I needed to hit out and place balls in the back of the court throughout the entire match to win. And that's exactly what I did."
Madden praised Miller's effort on the hardcourt.
"Zharinov is one of the toughest guys to beat in our conference," Madden said. "And for Derek to come through today like this shows tremendous leadership."
Also coming through in singles for Purdue was sophomore Troy Havens, who picked up a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win over Boris Kuharic at No. 6.
The Boilermakers will host Wisconsin tomorrow, April 7 at 1 p.m.
"We can't take anything for granted," Madden said. "Wisconsin is not as talented as Minnesota's lineup, but they will compete as hard as anybody."
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