Feb. 2, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team met with success today as it won its season opener with a 7-0 decision over Butler at the Lafayette Sports Center. Butler drops to 2-3, with all three losses coming to Big Ten teams.
Purdue won the doubles point to start the match. According to freshman Paul Rose, that early success was critical to the victory.
"It was very important to start strong into doubles and get the ball rolling," Rose said. "And carrying that into singles helped us with our confidence."
Rose did his part to get the Boilermakers on the board quickly. He teamed up with senior Andrew Wakefield to defeat Butler's Aubrey Annan and Peter Voelz 8-4 at No. 2 doubles.
In addition to the Rose/Wakefield win, Purdue received wins from junior Troy Havens and senior Scott Mayer at No. 1, and from freshman Colin Foster and junior Seth McKinley at No. 3.
At No. 1 doubles, Havens and Mayer teamed up to defeat Butler's 36th-ranked brother combo of Brandon and Kevin Gill. Although the match was shaky at first, Havens was pleased to come out with a win against a nationally ranked team.
"They are really smart players and do a lot of things that take you out of your rhythm by changing their style of play," Havens said. "They are not overpowering; they just work well together. Our team chemistry that helped us come out on top."
Havens and Mayer, along with the rest of the Boilermakers, found a way to carry their doubles play into singles. Playing at the No. 1 spot, Mayer defeated Kevin Gill 7-6 (7-3) 7-5, while Havens defeated Voelz 6-2, 6-4 at No. 3.
Wakefield was a 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 winner at No. 2 singles against Brandon Gill.
Sophomore David Robinson contributed to the Boilermaker victory by defeating Butler's Mike Weaver 6-3, 0-6, 6-0 at No. 4. At No. 6, Foster topped Annan 6-4, 6-3.
Purdue head coach Tim Madden praised his team's concentration despite the lopsided score.
"I don't think anyone was even thinking about the score," Madden said. "We just were confident that this was going to be our day. Since this was our first match, my expectations were simply to take the drill work into competition. That is what I was most pleased about."
Next up for the Boilermakers is a Friday meeting with Toledo. Doubles play is slated to begin at 3 p.m. at the Lafayette Sports Center.