April 13, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue (4-14, 206 Big Ten) lost 4-3 to No. 29 Indiana (18-5, 6-1 Big Ten) Sunday afternoon at the IU Tennis Center.
The Boilermakers received singles victories from Brooke Beier, Joanna Craven and Cigdem Duru, but the Hoosiers had already clinched the match by the time Purdue lit its end of the scoreboard.
Purdue, which had won three of its last five doubles points, were beaten today at the No. 1 and 3 positions to go down 1-0. Duru and Craven prevented the sweep by defeating Alba Berdala and Lindsey Stuckey at No. 2 doubles, 8-5.
Duru and Craven have won three of their four last matches together at the second position.
Indiana quickly took control of singles with three-consecutive straight-sets victories at the 2, 5 and 6 spots. Stuckey's 6-1, 7-5 win over Anna Dzeva at No. 5 clinched the match for the Hoosiers as well as a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
"We did all the right things but we just need to get tougher on some of the more crucial points," Purdue head coach Laura Glitz said. "There is a lot of parity in the Big Ten and I think if we played as well against Illinois and Michigan State as we did this weekend, we would have won both those matches. Everything is coming down to who wants it the most."
The Boilermakers' fought back to make the score a respectable one. Duru polished off Charlotte Martin 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3 singles to snap an 11-match losing streak, and Craven rallied from a set down at the No. 4 position to beat Sigrid Fischer 2-6, 7-5, 1-0.
Beier closed the match at No. 1 with her 7-5, 7-5 triumph over Alba Berdala.
Beier's and Craven's wins snapped short two-match losing streaks for each of them.
"Both our matches these last two days against No. 31 Ohio State and No. 29 Indiana were just so close and we were right there - it's just a matter of playing through one of them," Glitz said.
Purdue returns home to the Schwartz Tennis Center next weekend, playing host to Minnesota and Iowa. Admission is free and both duals start at 11 a.m.
Purdue welcomes the Big Ten in less than two weeks for the start of its women's tennis tournament (April 24 to 27). Admission is free to all four days of competition, and Sunday's noon championship match will be televised by the Big Ten Network.