Feb. 26, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team was defeated 7-0 by No. 3 Ohio State Thursday on the Basham Courts inside the Schwartz Tennis Center.
"You learn from the best," head coach Tim Madden said. "Ohio State is the best at making you think you're more than you're capable of. There are definitely things we need to improve on, and Ohio State taught us this."
Purdue (3-6, 0-2) got behind early after dropping the doubles point for just the fifth time this season. Ohio State's tandem of Justin Kronauge and Balasz Novak defeated Paul Foley and Eric Ramos 8-3 at No. 3. Ohio State (12-1, 1-0) clinched the point when the 37-ranked duo of Bryan Koniecko and Steven Moneke defeated Slavko Bijelica and Griff Nienberg 8-4 at No. 1. Sophomore Branko Kuzmanovic and senior P.J. Rose scored an 8-7 (7) victory for the Boilermakers over Matt Allare and Mike O'Connell at No. 2.
"P.J. and I both made sure we stayed into the match until the end," Kuzmanovic said. "We took advantage of all our opportunities and went for everything."
With five out of six singles players being nationally ranked in the top 100, Ohio State started its victories with Allare's 6-1, 6-2 victory over freshman Roberto Cabrini at No. 4 singles. Kronauge, ranked 23rd in the NCAA in singles, defeated Ramos 6-3, 6-4. The loss was just the third this season for Ramos and his second while playing at No. 3.
In his second appearance as a Boilermaker, freshman Thomas Wilson was ousted by Shunei Uzawa,the 82nd-ranked player in the NCAA, 6-0. 6-3. The Buckeyes added another win at No. 5 singles when 63rd ranked Novak defeated Nienberg, 6-0. 6-1.
The attention then turned to the No. 1 position where Ohio State's Bryan Koniecko defeated Bijelica 6-4, 6-4. This was just the third loss this season for Bijelica at No. 1 singles. That left one match remaining, and the Buckeyes completed the sweep at No. 2 when Moneke bettered Kuzmanovic 6-1, 6-4. This loss was Kuzmanovic's first since Feb. 14 against William & Mary.
"These are the matches where confidence comes from," Madden said. "I believe our guys will learn from this and continue to improve."
The Boilermakers return to action Friday at No. 11 Illinois. Purdue takes on the Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. ET. Live results will be available at purduesports.com.