May 12, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A good run ended for the Purdue men's tennis team, which concluded its 2002 season with a 4-0 loss at No. 14 Notre Dame in an NCAA second-round match today in South Bend.
Head coach Tim Madden was proud of his team despite the loss.
"We got great leadership up and down the lineup and competed very hard," Madden said. "The biggest difference between us and Notre Dame is the fact that all six of their singles players are seniors, and they played like veterans. That could take them even deeper into the tournament."
Purdue advanced to meet the 14th-seeded Fighting Irish with a 4-1 win over Ball State on Saturday, May 11. The Boilermakers had advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships only once before, in 1998, and were fighting for their first ever Sweet 16 berth when they took the court at noon today.
Unfortunately, the Irish had a bit more fight.
Notre Dame, which beat Purdue 7-0 on Feb. 17 in South Bend, got things started by winning the doubles point. But the host team had to work for it.
The Fighting Irish punched first, with Ashok Raju and Aaron Talarico beating senior Laith Al-Agba and Carl McCafferty 8-5 at No. 2. The Boilermakers answered with a big upset, as senior Dan Swan and junior Scott Mayer upended fifth-ranked Casey Smith and Javier Taborga 8-5 at No. 1.
The deciding point came down to No. 3, where Notre Dame's Brent D'Amico and Luis Haddock-Morales were able to escape with a 9-7 victory over senior Derek Miller and sophomore Seth McKinley.
The Fighting Irish needed only three singles wins to reach the four-point mark for the team victory. The first came from Matthew Scott, who beat Al-Agba 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5. Next, Andrew Laflin defeated Purdue sophomore and South Bend native Troy Havens 6-2, 6-1 at No. 6. Talarico delivered the knockout blow with a 7-5, 6-3 win over McCafferty at No. 3.
Mayer, Miller and junior Andrew Wakefield did not complete their matches, though all were in their third sets.
The Boilermakers finish the spring with a 13-12 overall record. They went 6-4 in the Big Ten.
Though the season ends with a loss, Madden is pleased with how much Purdue accomplished this year.
"Our goal every year is to finish stronger than we began and we did that," Madden said. "We matured a lot and built a lot of pride in this program with some great teamwork. Getting to the round of 32 in the NCAA's is a big achievement, and everyone on this team can be proud of that."
NOTRE DAME 4, PURDUE 0Doubles1. Dan Swan/Mayer (P) def. Smith/Taborga (ND) 8-52. Ashok Raju/Talarico (ND) def. Al-Agba/McCafferty (P) 8-53. Brent D'Amico/Haddock-Morales (ND) def. Miller/Seth McKinley (P) 9-7
Singles1. Scott Mayer (P) vs. Javier Taborga (ND) Abandoned2. Derek Miller (P) vs. Casey Smith (ND) Abandoned3. Aaron Talarico (ND) def. Carl McCafferty (P) 7-5, 6-34. Andrew Wakefield (P) vs. Luis Haddock-Morales (ND) Abandoned5. Matthew Scott (ND) def. Laith Al-Agba (P) 6-2, 6-36. Andrew Laflin (ND) def. Troy Havens (P) 6-2, 6-1
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