April 9, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Riding high after a sweep over No. 47 Ohio State and Penn State last weekend, the Purdue women's tennis team carried its momentum into a rare midweek match to upset No. 40 LSU 5-2 at the Lafayette Sports Center on Wednesday. Purdue improved its record to 9-9 (3-3 Big Ten), while LSU evened out at 11-11 (3-7 SEC).
The victory against LSU was Purdue's first in four meetings between the two schools. The win also was Purdue's first over an SEC opponent since Feb. 15, 1998, when it beat Auburn 6-3 in West Lafayette.
The 56th-ranked Boilermakers have won three straight matches, with four remaining on their regular-season schedule. Next on the calendar is a weekend trip to the Great Lakes State, with matches at Michigan State on April 12, and at Michigan on April 13.
Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo believed that the victory over the Lady Tigers would boost the Boilermakers' confidence level.
"This win does a lot for our confidence" Iandolo said. "LSU is a very good team that has a lot of energy and fights on every point. They play classic SEC style - aggressive and in your face. For us to be able to compete positively against them is a step in the right direction for our program."
The Boilermakers had to fight back from a 1-0 deficit after dropping the doubles point. But Purdue, which has lost the doubles point only five times all year, dominated in singles, winning five of six matches to claim the team victory. The only other time this season Purdue rallied from a doubles-point loss to win the match was at Wisconsin on March 29.
Shawna Zuccarini was the first singles player off the court for the Boilermakers. The sophomore No. 4 player quickly dispatched Daysi Espinal 6-0, 6-2.
Senior Missy Wright finished soon after, defeating Camila Caliari 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5.
Sophomore Amy Walgenbach was next, picking up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jessica Ferguson at No. 2. Walgenbach was followed by classmate Lara Burgarello, who beat Lauren Seaman 6-1, 7-5 at No. 6.
After senior Melissa Iqbal retired her match to Marina Chiarelli at No. 3, junior Gretchen Haynor outlasted Rocio Fantilli in a 10-6 matchbreaker after splitting the first two sets 6-4, 6-7.
The five singles victories are the most Purdue has recorded in a match since March 8, when the Boilermakers won five in a 6-1 victory over DePaul.
According to Wright, the domination stemmed from Purdue's growing self-assurance.
"We were ready for this match," Wright said. "We surprised ourselves at Wisconsin by coming back to win after losing the doubles point. But now that we've done it, we know it's not a big deal anymore. We just played well, and played very confidently in singles."
The Boilermakers now will turn their attention to the Spartans and Wolverines. Both Iandolo and Wright would like to see Purdue's win streak stretch to five.
"This is a big weekend for us," Iandolo said. "We feel really good about ourselves and are looking forward to it."
"Both matches this weekend are pretty important," Wright said. "With how confident we are right now, I think it's a realistic goal to go in there and take two."
#56 Purdue 5, #40 LSU 2Doubles1. Fantilli/Seaman (LSU) def. Wright/Burgarello (P) 8-52. Ferguson/Chiarelli (LSU) def. Zuccarini/Melissa Woods (P) 9-73. Iqbal/Haynor (P) def. Espinal/Caliari (LSU) 8-1Singles1. Gretchen Haynor (P) def. Rocio Fantilli (LSU) 6-4, 6-7, 10-62. Amy Walgenbach (P) def. Jessica Ferguson (LSU) 6-3, 6-33. Marina Chiarelli (LSU) def. Melissa Iqbal (P) 3-6, 7-5, 3-0 ret.4. Shawna Zuccarini (P) def. Daysi Espinal (LSU) 6-0, 6-25. Missy Wright (P) def. Camila Caliari (LSU) 6-1, 6-26. Lara Burgarello (P) def. Lauren Seaman (LSU) 6-1, 7-5- P -