March 7, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team ran into a national title contender Tuesday night in Champaign, Ill. In a Big Ten match-up between the 70th-ranked Boilermakers and second-ranked Fighting Illini, the host team came out on top with a 6-1 victory.
The Illini, winners of the last nine conference championships, earned their first point by winning at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Despite the outcome of the point having already been decided, Purdue senior Colin Foster and freshman Kurt Zaske delivered an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles over Ryler DeHeart and Marc Spicijaric.
Junior Jarred Leibner recorded a 6-2, 6-2 win over Brandon Davis at No. 6 singles for the Boilermakers' lone point.
Purdue head coach Tim Madden applauded the effort of his team.
"We played hard," Madden said. "Illinois is very, very strong, but we competed very well and challenged them."
Purdue dropped to 5-6 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten with the loss, while Illinois improved to 11-1 and 3-0.
The Boilermakers will be off for one week before they travel to Honolulu for matches against New Mexico and Hawaii on March 14 and 16.
#2 Illinois 6, #70 Purdue 1
Singles
1. #2 Ryler DeHeart (I) def. Kurt Zaske (P) 6-1, 6-2
2. #71 GD Jones (I) def. Kelubia Mabatah (P) 6-3, 7-6 (2) *
3. Ryan Rowe (I) def. Colin Foster (P) 6-3, 7-6 (1)
4. Marc Spicijaric (I) def. Eric Hodgman (P) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
5. #100 Pramod Dabir (I) def. Scott Warner (P) 6-4, 6-4
6. Jarred Leibner (P) def. Brandon Davis (I) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1. Foster/Zaske (P) def. DeHeart/Spicijaric (I) 8-6
2. Dabir/Davis (I) def. Jose Fuenmayor/Warner (P) 8-2
3. Jones/Rowe (I) def. Hodgman/Griffin Nienberg (P) 8-3
Order of singles finish: 1, 4, 2, 5, 6, 3
Order of doubles finish: 3, 2, 1
* Denotes match-clinching victory.
Purdue: 5-6 (1-2 Big Ten)
Illinois: 11-1 (3-0 Big Ten)
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