April 24, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue's men's tennis team lost 4-0 to Big Ten Championship host Iowa Thursday in first-round tournament action. The defeat dropped the Boilermakers' to 8-15 while the Hawkeyes improved to 13-9.
Iowa will face top-seeded Ohio State Friday in the first quarterfinal match of the day.
Purdue lost the doubles point and at the No. 2, 3 and 5 singles positions. The Boilermakers' lone credited victory was by the No. 2 doubles team of Eric Ramos and P.J. Rose which beat Gregory Holm and Patrick Dwyer, 8-5.
Ramos was up a set on Reinoud Haal at No. 4 singles and leading again 4-0 in the second set when the match was stopped. The Alameda, Calif., native completed the season with a respectable 14-10 record, and with Rose, finished the year at .500 at 7-7.
"The old saying goes, 'nice guys finish last', but for us this year it was, 'nice guys finish ninth,'" said Purdue head coach Tim Madden. "We've got too much nice in us, which is fine off the court. But we didn't compete tough enough down the stretch or here at the tournament and once again we were out-competed by Iowa."
Thursday's match also marked the final appearance of Jose Fuenmayor - the team's lone senior - in a Boilermaker uniform, and Madden offered the former walk-on nothing but praise for his work ethic.
"Jose's just a great guy and was one of the hardest-working players in his three years on this team," he said. "He's also a team guy, someone who genuinely cares about his teammates and their performances. He's going to be missed."