Feb. 12, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's 44th-ranked women's tennis team (2-2) posted a 6-1 victory over No. 66 Western Michigan (2-3) Tuesday afternoon at the Schwartz Tennis Center.
All six of the Boilermakers won their singles match. Each of them a hero on the court.
Junior Alejandra Boeker won a 10-6 super tiebreak in response to a 6-1 second-set defeat to Amanda Moccia at No. 6. Boeker also trailed early in the first set before coming back to win 7-5.
Redshirt junior Stephanie Wooten fought back flu-like symptoms at No. 3 in a convincing 6-2, 6-3 victory over Noriko Saruta.
Down 5-2 in the first set at No. 4, freshman Joanna Craven won the final five points - then went on to win the second set 6-2 over a crushed Yumi Matsuto.
"I just wasn't playing my game early enough and I played right into her hands," Craven said. "I should had been more aggressive right away and looked to go to the net."
"Jo may be a a freshman, but she has a game that will allow her to be a top three player for us next season," head coach Laura Glitz said. "I've seen her get better with each match since the fall and I know her game will only continue to elevate."
Senior Brooke Beier beat her first nationally ranked opponent in three chances, knocking off No. 98 Kerstin Pahl at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Beier gave up seven inches in height to the 6-foot-1 Pahl, but the East China, Mich., native still managed to run her opponent ragged.
"I knew the longer the point went on, the better my chance of winning," Beier said. "She (Pahl) has a big game, and I had to figure out how to take it away from her - I had to scrap for a lot of balls in order to beat her."
Senior Cigdem Duru and junior Anna Dzeva had the easiest days of anyone on the Boilermaker roster.
Duru finished first with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Priyanka Parekh at No. 2. Dzeva stomped Ashley Moccia at No. 5, 6-4, 6-1.
"I stressed to the team that they had to keep moving onto the next point," Glitz said after Purdue dropped the doubles point. "So we came out fired up for singles and Western Michigan folded mentally after about 30 minutes - then we took charge."
"Coach reminded us about our team goals at the break," Beier said. "She wants us to go after every ball, compete for every point and have fun. We responded to her message and really turned it up."
Purdue's fantastic finish followed a dubious start to doubles. The No. 2 combo of Duru and Craven fell to Pahl and Emily Dudzik 8-5, and the No. 3's Dzeva and Boeker dropped an 8-1 decision to Parekh and Saruta.
Beier and Wooten prevented a WMU doubles sweep with their 8-3 victory over Ashley Moccia and Matsuto at No. 1.
Purdue returns to the road again this weekend with matches at nationally ranked Oregon and Washington.
Glitz believes Tuesday's win will give Purdue the momentum it needs out west.
"These matches are going to be tough but we're looking forward to playing them," Glitz said. "Oregon and Washington are about the same level of competition - maybe a little better than Western Michigan - but it will serve as a nice benchmark if we can beat them and prove to ourselves that we're on the right track."