March 28, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team got back on the winning track with a 6-1 victory over Minnesota at the Varsity Courts on Sunday. The 45th-ranked Boilermakers, who had suffered their first conference defeat of the season to Iowa a day earlier, rebounded to even their overall record at 7-7, and improved their Big Ten mark to 2-1. The Golden Gophers fell to 2-8 (0-3 Big Ten).
Playing through shifting winds under partly cloudy skies, Purdue managed to get off to a good start by taking the doubles point. Juniors Lara Burgarello and Amy Walgenbach finished first, with an 8-1 victory over Megan Steiger and Jenna Tellefsen at No. 3. Next, Junior Shawna Zuccarini and freshman Hala Sufi handed Ida Malmberg and Lindsay Risebrough an 8-4 defeat at No. 2.
The Boilermakers continued strong in singles, winning five of six matches. First off the court was junior Melissa Woods, who downed Shelby Rohrer 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5. Burgarello also breezed through her match at No. 6, winning 6-0, 6-0 against Emily Bezek.
Walgenbach clinched the team victory with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Risebrough at No. 3, while Sufi and Zuccarini won in 10-point tiebreakers at No. 2 and No. 4.
Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo was impressed with how his team responded after the loss to the Hawkyes.
"Clearly this was a match that we had to have," Iandolo said. "Minnesota is a bit undermanned, but strong in four positions throughout their singles and doubles lineup. We knew that to win we would have to make a dent in those four positions, and we did that."
Iandolo singled out the play of Walgenbach, who now has won two singles matches in a row following a five-match losing skid.
Purdue will return to action next weekend, when it plays host to No. 6 Northwestern and Wisconsin on April 3 and 4.
#45 Purdue 6, Minnesota 1Singles1. Angela Buergis (UM) def. Gretchen Haynor (PU) 6-1, 6-32. Hala Sufi (PU) def. Nischela Reddy (UM) 6-1, 4-6, 10-63. Amy Walgenbach (PU) def. Lindsay Risebrough (UM) 6-1, 6-2*4. Shawna Zuccarini (PU) def. Ida Malmberg (UM) 6-7, 7-5, 10-45. Melissa Woods (PU) def. Shelby Rohrer (UM) 6-0, 6-06. Lara Burgarello (PU) def. Emily Bezek (UM) 6-0, 6-0Doubles1. Buergis/Reddy (UM) def. Haynor/Woods (PU) 8-62. Zuccarini/Sufi (PU) def. Malmberg/Risebrough (UM) 8-43. Burgarello/Walgenbach (PU) def. Megan Steiger/Jenna Tellefsen (UM) 8-1- P -
Order of singles finish: 5, 6, 3, 1, 2, 4Order of doubles finish: 3, 2, 1
* Denotes match-clinching win.
Purdue: 7-7 (2-1 Big Ten)Minnesota: 2-8 (0-3 Big Ten)