Nov. 7, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team met with success in the opening round of the ASU Thunderbird Invitational on Friday, Nov. 7, in Tempe, Ariz. Two Boilermakers advanced to the quarterfinals of the 32-player singles draw, comprised of competitors from some of the top-ranked teams in the nation.
Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo was encouraged by the results.
"We had a very good day," Iandolo said. "To put two players in the quarterfinals against the competition in this tournament is outstanding. We had some very strong individual performances and some big wins, and we look forward to seeing that continue."
Junior Amy Walgenbach won two matches, beating Haley McIver of Kansas State 6-1, 6-4 in the first round, then defeating Rebecca Rankin of Arizona State 6-4, 6-3 in the second.
Junior Shawna Zuccarini rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 first-round victory against Kansas State's Maria Rosenberg. She upended Claire Smith of UNLV 6-2, 7-5 in the round of 16.
Freshman Hala Sufi pulled out the biggest victory of the day, as she upset fifth-seeded and 76th-ranked Tracie Chong of Rice in the first round. Sufi dropped her second-round match by a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 score to California's Jieun Jacobs.
Senior Gretchen Haynor suffered two singles losses, falling 7-5, 6-2 to Jenny Zika of Duke in the first round, and 7-5, 6-2 to Arizona State's Kady Pooler in consolation.
Freshman Alyssa Rodriguez also dropped her first-round match, losing 6-4, 6-4 to sixth-seeded Nicole Havlicek of California. Rodriguez rebounded with a 7-5, 6-0 consolation victory against Sabrina Capannolo of Arizona State.
In doubles, all three Purdue pairs bowed out in the first round of the 16-team main draw. Sufi and sophomore Brittany Reitz lost 8-4 to Rosenberg and Paulina Castillejos of Kansas State, 8-4; Haynor and Zuccarini lost 8-4 to third-seeded Havlicek and Jody Scheldt of Cal; and Rodriguez and junior Lara Burgarello lost 8-6 to Chong and DiSesa of Rice.
Competition in the ASU Thunderbird Invitational will continue Saturday, with Walgenbach taking on Scheldt, the eighth seed, and Zuccarini facing Zika. Consolation matches in both singles and doubles also will resume Saturday. The tournament will conclude Sunday.
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