April 5, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team was defeated 7-0 by No. 24 Wisconsin Sunday on the Basham Courts inside the Schwartz Tennis Center.
"Coming into this weekend, I expected this from Wisconsin," head coach Tim Madden said. "I think they are a very talented team. It's important to all of us that we keep competing, especially after a close loss to Northwestern (on Friday) that we felt like we should have won. I feel like we competed for about 90 percent of the time today. Looking ahead, we need to place emphasis on the doubles point because we need a confidence boost, and I think that's the best way. It's the first point and can give you confidence that can carry into singles."
Purdue (6-12, 0-6) fell behind early after dropping the doubles point for the 10th time this season. Wisconsin's 15th-ranked duo of Moritz Baumann and Marek Michalicka gave the Badgers an early advantage by defeating junior Slavko Bijelica and senior Griff Nienberg 8-2 at No. 1. The point was clinched when Luke Rassow-Kantor and Patrick Pohlmann beat sophomore Eric Ramos and freshman Thomas Wilson 8-4 at No. 3. The Boilermakers avoided the sweep as junior Branko Kuzmanovic and senior P.J. Rose won their second decision in a row by defeating Michael Dierberger and Michael Muskievicz 8-5 at No. 2.
Wisconsin (14-6, 3-3) carried its momentum into singles. Pohlmann extended the Badgers' lead with his 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Ramos at No. 3, and Baumann beat Bijelica 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 1 position. Wisconsin clinched the match with a victory at No. 2, where Michalicka defeated Kuzmanovic 6-3, 6-2.
The Badgers continued to widen the gap as Dierberger earned a 6-1, 7-5 win over Rose at the No. 4 spot. In the only match that needed three sets to determine a winner, Muskievicz defeated Wilson 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6. The final margin was reached when Peter Marrach won 6-4, 6-4 over Nienberg at No. 5.
Purdue wraps up its home slate next weekend by hosting Michigan State on Saturday and No. 47 Michigan on Sunday. Both matches begin at noon ET from the Schwartz Tennis Center.