April 19, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's men's tennis team (8-13, 2-7 Big Ten) lost 5-2 at No. 53 Iowa Saturday. The Hawkeyes improved to 12-8 and 4-5 in the conference with their victory.
The Boilermakers' points were both attained in singles. P.J. Rose dispatched J.P. Ritchie at the No. 3 position, 6-3, 6-4, and Eric Ramos topped Reinoud Hall at No. 4, 6-4, 6-1.
Ramos, a freshman from Alameda, Calif., leads all Boilermakers this spring with 13 wins. Rose and junior Griff Nienberg are tied for second on the club with 11 victories each.
The dual was moved indoors because of inclement weather, but head coach Tim Madden refused to allow the poor conditions to serve as an excuse for his team's performance.
"Iowa competed a lot harder than we did today, and there's not much else I can say about it," he said. "This decision had nothing to do with talent level or match conditions and moving inside from outside, we were just out-competed.
"P.J. He's a guy that competes hard every day, but it takes more than one guy to get a team win."
Purdue completes its regular season on the road Sunday at Minnesota. The Boilermakers got the best of the Golden Gophers earlier this spring semester, winning four of six singles and two of three doubles at January's Purdue Invitational.