April 5, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team picked up its fourth Big Ten victory of the season with a 4-3 win at Penn State on Saturday. The 50th-ranked Boilermakers are now 10-5 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
Purdue got off to a good start by winning the doubles point. Senior Scott Mayer and junior Troy Havens teamed up for an 8-4 win over Roddy Cantey and Clint Keithley at No. 1. Senior Andrew Wakefield and freshman Paul Rose combined for a 9-8 win at No. 2 over Brad Nudell and Malcolm Scatcliffe.
Trailing 1-0 heading into singles, the host Nittany Lions tied the score when Nate Emge defeated Mayer 7-5, 6-0 at No. 1. But Wakefield helped the Boilermakers bounce back, as did Havens and Rose. Wakefield downed Mark Barry 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2, Havens beat Scatcliffe 7-5, 6-3 at No. 3, and Rose defeated Cantey 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 4 to secure the second, third and fourth points in the Purdue victory.
Penn State (13-5, 2-3 Big Ten) closed out the match with singles wins at No. 5 and 6 over Boilermaker junior Seth McKinley and freshman Colin Foster.
Purdue head coach Tim Madden credited his team's success against Penn State to its mental strength.
"We were able to force our will upon Penn State," Madden said. "The guys did a better job of taking care of internal factors and didn't allow external factors to affect their mental focus."
The Boilermakers would like to see that mental tenacity carry over to their Sunday match with Ohio State in Columbus. The 25th-ranked Buckeyes lost 5-2 to No. 1 Illinois on Saturday.
Purdue and Ohio State will face off at the Stickney Tennis Center at noon.
Purdue 4, Penn State 3Doubles1. Mayer/Havens (PU) def. Cantey/Keithley 8-42. Rose/Wakefield (PU) def. Nudell/Scatliffe (PSU) 9-83. Emge/Barry (PSU) def. McKinley/Chatterjee (PU) 9-8Singles1. Nate Emge (PSU) def. Scott Mayer (PU) 6-5, 6-02. Andrew Wakefield (PU) def. Mark Barry (PSU) 6-3, 6-23. Troy Havens (PU) def. Malcolm Scatcliffe (PSU) 7-5, 6-34. Paul Rose (PU) def. Roddy Cantey (PSU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-35. Clint Keithley (PSU) def. Seth McKinley (PU) 1-6, 6-2, 13-116. Todd Stecko (PSU) def. Colin Foster (PU) 7-6, 7-6
- P -