Feb. 8, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team fell 5-2 at No. 49 Notre Dame on Sunday. The loss was the first of the season for the 53rd-ranked Boilermakers (3-1), while the win improved the Fighting Irish to 4-2.
Purdue head coach Tim Madden remained positive despite the loss.
"We lost to a team that was a little better," Madden said. "We had good intensity, but our inexperience in the singles lineup caught us."
Notre Dame took the first point of the match by winning two of three doubles contests. The No. 2 Purdue pair of juniors Sounak Chatterjee and Filip Koziell did, however, manage to pull out an 8-6 win against Stephen Bass and Barry King.
Purdue needed to win four singles matches to claim the victory, but could muster only two. Sophomore Paul Rose handled Brent D'Amico 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2, while junior David Robinson outlasted Bass 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8 in the matchbreaker) at No. 3.
Madden complimented Robinson, who owns a 4-0 singles record in dual matches this season.
"David is not the same player we've seen in the past," Madden said. "He is using his athleticism and he is dictating play, and he has become a real force high in our lineup."
Purdue will have more than a week off before returning to action Feb. 21 at Vanderbilt. The Commodores, who finished last season as NCAA runners-up, currently are ranked fourth in the nation.
#49 Notre Dame 5, #53 Purdue 2Singles1. #68 Matthew Scott (ND) d. Troy Havens (PU) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)2. Paul Rose (PU) d. Brent D'Amico (ND) 6-2, 6-33. David Robinson (PU) d. Stephen Bass (ND) 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)4. Barry King (ND) d. Colin Foster (PU) 6-1, 6-25. Eric Langenkamp (ND) d. Filip Koziell (PU) 6-0, 6-16. Patrick Buchanan (ND) d. Sounak Chatterjee (PU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles1. D'Amico/Scott (ND) d. Havens/Rose (PU) 8-52. Chatterjee/Koziell (PU) d. S. Bass/King (ND) 8-63. Paul Hidaka/Eric Langenkamp (ND) d. Foster/Robinson (PU) 9-7
Order of Singles Finish: 5, 6, 4*, 2, 1, 3Order of Doubles Finish: 2, 1, 3** denotes clinching match
- P -