April 26, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 45th-ranked Purdue women's tennis team (12-8, 5-5 Big Ten) breezed through Wisconsin (4-16, 0-10) in the first round of the Big Ten Championships Thursday in Minneapolis.
Mallory Voelker, Brooke Beier and Cigdem Duru all won at singles and doubles in advancing Purdue into a second-round match for the 12th-consecutive year.
The Boilermakers are unbeaten in all 12 of their first-round matches, but have yet to win a second tournament match, giving them an even 11-11 conference tournament record. Friday's opponent and third-seeded Michigan (14-6) poses a serious challenge; the Wolverines beat Purdue 6-1 earlier this season on April 7 with the lone victory served up by sophomore Anna Dzeva.
Purdue narrowly edged Wisconsin 4-3 in Madison on March 31, but the Boilermakers set a dominant tone early in the match this time around as the No. 1 and 2 doubles teams both won by 8-5 scores. The No. 57 team of Beier and Voelker pulled off a minor upset of 56th-ranked Caitlin Burke and Elizabeth Carpenter, while Duru and Neela Vaez topped Nicole Beck and Kaylan Caiati.
Both these Boilermaker tandems lost to the Badgers in their first meeting. Burke and Carpenter toyed with the then 33rd-ranked Beier and Voelker 8-3, and Duru and Vaez dropped an 8-5 set to Caiati and Beck.
"Being able to turn around the doubles point made a huge difference for us in this match," said head coach Mat Iandolo. "And on top of that, we were able to win convincingly at some singles positions as well."
Burke had been a thorn in the side of Voelker all season. The nation's 31st-ranked singles player beat Voelker in straight sets at both their conference dual and at January's Virginia Invitational. Not only did Voelker beat Burke in doubles Thursday, she also stole the first set of their singles match 7-5.
The No. 1 singles battle was declared unfinished with Burke leading 3-2 in the second set after Dzeva clinched the victory for the Old Gold and Black, 7-5, 6-2 over Morgan Tuttle at No. 5.
Voelker was honored by the Big Ten Conference for the third time this year following her team's win over Wisconsin. The sophomore and two-time conference player of the week was one of 12 individuals named to the All-Big Ten team for posting a 13-7 record at No. 1 singles and a 12-7 record at No. 1 doubles with Beier.
Beier, a junior from East China, Mich., also was recognized by the Big Ten as she was selected as Purdue's sportsmanship honoree.
After the doubles point was claimed, Duru at No. 4 and Beier at No. 2 made quick work of their Badger adversaries. Duru played a near-perfect match against Chelsea Nusslock, winning 6-1, 6-0, while Beier beat Caiati for a second time this year, 6-1, 6-2.
In their first meeting, Caitai took Beier to a third set before falling 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Purdue and Michigan are scheduled to meet Friday at 2 p.m. (CST) at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center.
For complete Big Ten Women's Tennis Championships information, please click here.
#45 Purdue 4, Wisconsin 1
Singles competition
1. #97 Mallory Voelker (PUR) vs. #31 Caitlin Burke (WIS) 7-5, 2-3, unfinished
2. Brooke Beier (PUR) def. Kaylan Caiati (WIS) 6-1, 6-2
3. Neela Vaez (PUR) vs. Elizabeth Carpenter (WIS) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0, unfinished
4. Cigdem Duru (PUR) def. Chelsea Nusslock (WIS) 6-1, 6-0
5. Anna Dzeva (PUR) def. Morgan Tuttle (WIS) 7-5, 6-2
6. Erin Jobe (WIS) def. Alejandra Boeker (PUR) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #57 Brooke Beier/Mallory Voelker (PUR) def. #56 Caitlin Burke/Elizabeth Carpenter (WIS) 8-5
2. Cigdem Duru/Neela Vaez (PUR) def. Nicole Beck/Kaylan Caiati (WIS) 8-5
3. Chelsea Nusslock/Kim Roberts (WIS) def. Alejandra Boeker/Anna Dzeva (PUR) 8-6
Match Notes:
Wisconsin 4-16, 0-10 Big Ten
Purdue 12-8, 5-5 Big Ten; National ranking #45
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,2,6,5)
2007 Big Ten Championship - First Round
Purdue - #6 seed
Wisconsin - #11 seed