May 11, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A 4-1 victory over Ball State on Saturday, May 11, has moved the Purdue men's tennis team into the NCAA Championships round of 32. It marks the second time in school history that the Boilermakers have advanced to the second round of the national tournament.
Purdue, which received an at-large big into the field of 64, handled the Mid-American champion Cardinals with relative ease in South Bend, Ind. Both teams had to fight through two suspensions in play because of rain, but Purdue managed to come through sparkling.
Head coach Tim Madden praised his team's effort.
"We were successful today because we were the smarter team," Madden said. "Ball State came out with exceptional energy in doubles, but we stayed in the fight and were able to take a little sting out of them."
The doubles point was a priority for the Boilermakers, who lost it when they played Ball State on March 1. Despite beating the Cardinals 6-1 on that date, Purdue committed to getting off to a better start this time around.
Helping the Boilermakers on their way were senior Derek Miller and sophomore Seth McKinley, who teamed up to defeat Matt Laramore and Brad Rhodes 8-6 at No. 3. Senior Dan Swan and junior Scott Mayer followed suit by beating Kevin Burnett and Jason Pressel 8-3 at No. 1.
Taking a 1-0 lead into singles, the Boilermakers needed to win just three individual matches to claim the team victory. They came from junior Andrew Wakefield, senior Laith Al-Agba and sophomore Troy Havens. Wakefield beat Burnett 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4. Al-Agba defeated Laramore 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5. And Havens, a South Bend native, clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Rhodes at No. 6.
Madden applauded the play of all three players.
"Andrew and Laith played very well," Madden said. "Troy played inspired tennis in front of his hometown fans."
Havens, who had to finish his match indoors due to rain, thought his match was not pretty, but was nonetheless excited about delivering the clinching victory before some familiar faces.
"With the conditions being cold and windy, the match was pretty ugly," Havens said. "My first serve is usually what I rely on, but it was not very effective today. So I just tried to keep more balls in off the serve, which was ugly, but effective. "It was pretty nice coming home. I grew up around here, and (Notre Dame) is where I practiced. I love playing here. It is great to come home because there is always a lot of support." Ball State's only point came from Chris Varga, who beat Miller 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2. Mayer and junior Carl McCafferty had their matches abandoned once the outcome was decided.
This is Purdue's fifth trip to the NCAA Championships, all coming in the last six years. Prior to today the Boilermakers had won only one of their six NCAA matches, advancing to the second round in 1998 before falling to Duke in South Bend.
Purdue, ranked 40th, will get a second chance to make it to the Sweet 16 on Sunday, May 12, when it faces 14th-ranked and 14th-seeded Notre Dame at 1 p.m. The Boilermakers lost 7-0 to the Fighting Irish on Feb. 17. Notre Dame has lost in the second round the last two years.
PURDUE 4, BALL STATE 1Doubles1. Dan Swan/Mayer (P) def. Burnett/Pressel (BSU) 8-32. Al-Agba/McCafferty (P) vs. Seni/Varga (BSU) Abandoned3. Miller/Seth McKinley (P) def. Laramore/Rhodes (BSU) 8-6
Singles1. Scott Mayer (P) vs. Jason Pressel (BSU) Abandoned2. Chris Varga (BSU) def. Derek Miller (P) 6-2, 6-13. Carl McCafferty (P) vs. Andrew Seni (BSU) Abandoned4. Andrew Wakefield (P) def. Kevin Burnett (BSU) 6-1, 6-15. Laith Al-Agba (P) def. Matt Laramore (BSU) 6-2, 6-26. Troy Havens (P) def. Brad Rhodes (BSU) 6-4, 6-3
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