Feb. 16, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's men's tennis team began its three-match homestand on a high note, defeating the Toledo Rockets 5-2 Friday afternoon at the Schwartz Tennis Center.
Purdue improved to 2-0 with the victory, while Toledo dropped to 4-6.
The Boilermakers won the doubles point with their usual No. 3 team of Paul Foley and Branko Kuzmanovic playing to a 9-8 (5) win at the No. 1 spot over Toledo's Travis Curran and Brian Rager.
The freshman tandem found itself down 8-7 but came back to tie it at 8-8 courtesy of a monster spike by Foley at the net. The Dublin native also served up a pair of aces during this crucial set.
During the tiebreak, Kuzmanovic pushed a cross-court backhand that caught Toledo off guard as the ball drifted from left to right. The Rocket combo was plagued by return problems as well, allowing the Boilermakers to rally back from a 4-2 deficit.
"I thought our guys did a great job of holding down the top of the (doubles) lineup," said Purdue head coach Tim Madden. "Branko knows how to take care of business on the court in both singles and doubles, and is quickly showing great leadership skills."
Kuzmanovic and Foley followed their doubles triumph with a pair of singles victories.
Kuzmanovic finished first after quickly dispatching Chris Clark at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-2. Foley had a easy first set (6-1) over Josh Moran at No. 4, but fought back to win the second stanza 7-6 (5).
"Paul is an aggressive-minded player and when he tries too hard, the fewer results he gets; he has to remember to take care of fundamentals first." said Madden. "I think the first set came a little too easy, and Paul wanted to keep playing aggressive even though his opponent had made some adjustments."
The promotion of Foley and Kuzmanovic allowed Madden to stick brothers Paul and P.J. Rose in at No. 3 doubles. The Rose brothers' appearance, their first together in a dual match, was a successful one as they ripped Clark and Wade Ward, 8-4.
"We're working on getting P.J. back into the lineup after undergoing shoulder surgery, and it was a good first step; they were the first to finish in doubles," said Madden.
Seniors Eric Hodgman and Scott Warner both improved to 5-0 this spring with their straight-set victories. Hodgman beat Curran, 6-4, 6-3, and Warner defeated Keith Moran, 6-3, 6-2.
The Boilermakers wrap up their weekend of competition Saturday, playing host to a doubleheader featuring Marquette (11 a.m.) and Washington (3 p.m.). Admission is free.