Jan. 31, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team earned a 6-1 victory over the visiting Maryland Terrapins Saturday on the Basham Courts inside the Schwartz Tennis Center.
"I was proud of the way the team played," head coach Laura Glitz said. "They fought really hard, and it was a well-deserved win."
Purdue (2-2) gained an early advantage by sweeping the doubles point. Senior co-captain Stephanie Wooten and junior Michelle Sammons defeated Michal Amir and Lisa Miller 8-1 at No. 1, and freshmen Remi Martin and Jennifer Rabot clinched the point with a 9-7 win over Maggie MacKeever and Eleanor Peters at No. 2. Junior co-captain Tatiana Ganzha and freshman Anna Dushkina trailed 7-5 before battling back to defeat Julia Huschke and Jordan Hansbrough 8-7 (2) at No. 3.
Purdue pushed its lead to 4-0 by winning the first three singles matches, which ended almost simultaneously. Rabot earned the first victory by taking down MacKeever 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5 singles. Less than one minute later, Ganzha completed a dominating victory of her own by wrapping up a 6-0, 6-2 win over Karin Lundmark at No. 3. As Ganzha was shaking hands with Lundmark, Dushkina wrapped up her 6-0, 6-0 dismantling of Hansbrough at No. 6 to clinch the match for the Boilermakers.
"I felt like we came out on the court ready to fight for every point," said Dushkina, who celebrated her 19th birthday Saturday. "Our attitude was very positive, and we supported one another consistently."
Maryland (0-1) got on the board with a win at No. 5 singles as Miller defeated Martin 6-2, 6-2. Wooten increased Purdue's lead to 5-1 by earning a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over Peters at No. 1. Sammons earned her first singles win of the season, 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (7) over Amir at No. 2, for the final margin. The third set was played as a tiebreak to 10 points since the team winner had already been decided.
Purdue wraps up its season-opening streak of five consecutive home matches Sunday against Toledo. The match is scheduled to start at 2 p.m., and admission is free. Live results will be available at purduesports.com.