March 15, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's men's tennis team (7-3, 1-2 Big Ten) lost its third-straight decision Thursday afternoon, falling at No. 75 UC-Irvine 4-3. The Anteaters improved to 7-8 with the victory.
Boilermaker head coach Tim Madden was not pleased with the team's overall performance.
"We continue to make life difficult for ourselves by losing the doubles point," said Madden. "We need to correct this problem soon before it gets harder to sustain any amount of confidence."
Purdue lost all three doubles before winning half the singles. Freshmen Branko Kuzmanovic and Paul Foley, and senior Scott Warner were victorious at the No. 2, 5 and 6 positions.
Kuzmanovic dropped the first-set tiebreak, but came back to win the next two sets by scores of 6-3, 6-1. Both Foley and Warner won in straight sets.
Kuzmanovic's comeback victory drew Madden's praise.
"Branko continues to lead this time by his actions on the court," said Madden. "He really demands a lot of himself."
Purdue completes its short two-match West Coast trip Friday with a visit to the University of San Diego.
No. 75 UC Irvine 4, Purdue 3
No. 1 Aaron Yovan (UCI) def. Paul Rose (Purdue) 6-4, 7-6
No. 2 Branko Kuzmanovic (Purdue) def. Victor Lamm (UCI) 6-7, 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 Mustafa Ulukan (UCI) def. Eric Hodgeman (Purdue) 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 Shimpei Suzuki (UCI) def. Kurt Zaske (Purdue) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Paul Foley (Purdue) def. Zac Tsai (UCI) 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 Scott Warner (Purdue) def. Andrei Radulescu (UCI) 7-6, 6-3
No. 1 Yovan/Ulukan (UCI) def. Rose/Kuzmanovic (Purdue) 8-6
No. 2 Radulescu/Tsai (UCI) def. Zaske/Hodgeman (Purdue) 8-6
No. 3 Lamm/Alex Sundling (UCI) def. Warner/Jose Fuenmayor (Purdue) 8-0