April 11, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team earned its first Big Ten win Saturday in the first match played on the Schwartz Family Outdoor Courts this season by defeating Michigan State 5-2.
"When you have a team truly committed to teamwork, you can find a way to get a win," head coach Tim Madden said. "Today, our goal was to get the doubles point so that we were the confident team going into singles. I think that really helped us all the way through the match. P.J. (Rose) has been our most vocal leader, and that positive energy helps others every time we go out. I think today he got a lot of help back, and that's good teamwork."
Purdue (7-12, 1-6) jumped out to an early lead by sweeping the doubles point for the sixth time this season. Junior Slavko Bijelica and senior Griff Nienberg stopped a five-match losing streak with a dominating 8-3 victory over John Allare and Jason Norville at No. 1. The point was clinched at No. 3 when junior Paul Foley and sophomore Eric Ramos completed an 8-4 win over Clark Richardson and Austin Brooks. The sweep was finalized after Purdue's junior duo of Branko Kuzmanovic and P.J. Rose grabbed an 8-7 (3) defeat of John Stratton and Alex Forger at No. 2.
The Boilermakers continued to roll as the match moved to singles. Ramos snapped a two-match losing streak and earned his 10th win this season with a dominating 6-0, 6-1 victory over Scott Rasmussen at No. 3. Bijelica pushed the Boilermakers' advantage to 3-0 and won his team-best 12th match this season by defeating John Allare 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1. Michigan State (12-11, 0-7) closed the gap to 3-2 with victories at No. 5 and No. 2. Ronnie Hulewicz defeated freshman Roberto Cabrini 6-1, 6-1 at the fifth spot, and Forger won 6-4, 6-2 over Kuzmanovic at No. 2.
After the Spartans closed within one point, Rose put the match away. The Highland, Ill., native defeated Brooks 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4 to clinch the match for the Boilermakers. Rose improved to 11-7 this spring in singles play and trails only Bijelica for the team lead in victories. The final margin was reached when Nienberg improved to 5-5 this season in singles with his 6-0, 7-6 (2) win over Norville at No. 6.
"I knew we had three points and Griff was in a close second set," Rose said. "We have been in that position a few times this season and I was glad I was in the spot to get the win. We've had a lot of 4-3 and 5-2 losses this season, and it is good to be on the other side of it. Everyone feeds off each others' energy, both good and bad, so it's important that someone keeps things positive."
Purdue improved to 12-5 against Michigan State since Madden became head coach in 1996. The Boilermakers wrap up their home schedule Sunday at noon ET against No. 49 Michigan. Admission to matches at the Schwartz Tennis Center is free. Live results also will be available at purduesports.com.