April 29, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team beat Michigan State 4-1 in a Big Ten Championships first-round match Thursday in Evanston, Ill. The victory advances the Boilermakers to the quarterfinals, where they will meet 11th-ranked and top-seeded Northwestern, the tournament host.
For Purdue, the No. 9 seed in the tournament, the win against the eighth-seeded Spartans helped it exact a measure of revenge; Michigan State beat the Boilermakers 4-3 in West Lafayette on April 17.
The difference for Purdue in the rubber match was its dominating doubles play. The Boilermakers, who surrendered the doubles point in the first meeting with the Spartans, left nothing to chance the second time around. Junior Shawna Zuccarini and Hala Sufi finished first at No. 2, beating Pascale Schnitzer and Sarah Andrews 8-1. Junior Lara Burgarello and freshman Alyssa Rodriguez then blanked Jessica Baron and Karen Gustafson at No. 3.
Purdue went ahead 2-0 after junior Amy Walgenbach walked off the No. 3 court with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Andrews. The score jumped to 3-0 behind a 6-2, 6-3 win by Sufi over Keri Thompson at No. 1.
Michigan State finally got on the board with Baron's 6-3, 6-3 win against Zuccarini at No. 5, but Purdue senior Melissa Woods closed out the match by beating Gustafson 6-0, 6-3 at No. 6.
Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo thought the Boilermakers did a good job of executing their game plan.
"We knew doubles would be important because it would set the tone for the rest of the match," Iandolo said. "We did a really nice job of dictating play early and had some great results. Our confidence and momentum carried over into singles."
The win improved the 50th-ranked Boilermakers' record to 10-13. Michigan State dropped to 8-14. Purdue next will face Northwestern, which beat the Boilermakers 7-0 in West Lafayette on April 3, in a quarterfinal match slated to start Friday at 10 a.m. The Wildcats received a first-round bye.
All first-round matches played Thursday were moved to the Combe Indoor Tennis Center due to windy conditions in the Chicago area.
#50 Purdue 4, Michigan State 1Singles1. Hala Sufi (PU) def. Keri Thompson (MSU) 6-2, 6-32. Caroline Lay (MSU) vs. Alyssa Rodriguez (PU) - Lay led 6-4, 2-23. Amy Walgenbach (PU) def. Sarah Andrews (MSU) 6-0, 6-14. Gretchen Haynor (PU) vs. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) - Haynor led 6-0, 4-55. Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Shawna Zuccarini (PU) 6-3, 6-36. Melissa Woods (PU) def. Karen Gustafson (MSU) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles1. Lay/Thompson (MSU) vs. Haynor/Woods (PU) - Lay/Thompson led 6-32. Zuccarini/Sufi (PU) def. Schnitzer/Andrews (MSU) 8-13. Lara Burgarello/Rodriguez (PU) def. Baron/Gustafson (MSU) 8-0
Order of singles finish: 3, 1, 5, 6Order of doubles finish: 2, 3
Purdue: 10-13Michigan State: 8-14
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