April 3, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The seventh-ranked Northwestern women's tennis team proved too much for Purdue, as the Wildcats beat the Boilermakers 7-0 Saturday in West Lafayette. Northwestern, last year's Big Ten tournament champion, improved to 13-3 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten with the victory, while Purdue dropped to 7-8 and 2-2.
The Wildcats scored first, taking the double point behind wins at No. 1 and No. 2. At 1 doubles, the nation's second-ranked team of Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush defeated seniors Gretchen Haynor and Melissa Woods 8-6, while Boilermaker junior Shawna Zuccarini and freshman Hala Sufi lost 8-5 at 2 doubles to Alexis Prousis and Jamie Peisel.
After the doubles point was decided, junior Lara Burgarello and Alyssa Rodriguez finished off Northwestern's 3 doubles pair of Ruth Barnes and Andrea Yung 8-7.
Unfortunately for the Boilermakers, the win by Burgarello and Rodriguez amounted to Purdue's lone victory on the day. Northwestern tore through singles, winning five matches in straight sets. Rodriguez won her first set against Peisel, but fell 5-7, 6-4 and 10-8 in a tiebreaker at No. 4 to conclude the match.
Both teams had to battle windy conditions at the Varsity Tennis Courts, but Purdue head coach Mat Iandolo thought Northwestern did a better job of managing the adverse weather.
"We played a very good team today, and they handled the challenges the weather presented," Iandolo said. "One of the reasons why they're ranked so high is because they are mentally strong, and mentally strong teams usually do well in tough conditions."
Purdue will have a chance to even its record Sunday, when it plays host to Wisconsin. Iandolo considers the match against the Badgers to be critical for the Boilermakers.
"Every Big Ten match is significant, but we have to beat Wisconsin if we're going to challenge for one of the top three or four spots in the league," Iandolo said.
Purdue and Wisconsin will meet at 11 a.m. The match likely will be played indoors at the Lafayette Sports Center.
#7 Northwestern 7, #52 Purdue 0Singles1. Cristelle Grier (NU) def. Hala Sufi (PU) 6-1, 6-12. Jessica Rush (NU) def. Gretchen Haynor (PU) 6-0, 6-3 *3. Alexis Prousis (NU) def. Amy Walgenbach (PU) 6-1, 6-44. Jamie Peisel (NU) def. Alyssa Rodriguez (PU) 5-7, 6-4 (10-8)5. Andrea Yung (NU) def. Shawna Zuccarini (PU) 6-3, 6-36. Connie Chiang (NU) def. Melissa Woods (PU) 6-2, 6-2Doubles1. Rush/Grier (NU) def. Haynor/Woods (PU) 8-62. Prousis/Peisel (NU) def. Zuccarini/Sufi (PU) 8-53. Burgarello/Rodriguez (PU) def. Barnes/Yung (NU) 8-7- P -
Order of singles finish: 1, 6, 2, 3, 5, 4Order of doubles finish: 1, 2, 3
* Denotes match-clinching win.
Purdue: 7-8 (2-2 Big Ten)Northwestern: 13-3 (3-0 Big Ten)