March 12, 2010
The 60th-ranked Purdue men's tennis team was defeated 7-0 Friday evening by fourth-ranked Ohio State at the Varsity Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
"You have to give a lot of credit to Ohio State," head coach Pawel Gajdzik said. "They have won 100 straight matches at home, and they showed why today. This was a great atmosphere, and it gave us a chance to play our younger guys. Hopefully they were able to take something away from tonight that will benefit us down the road. This is where we want to be with our program, and I believe the guys saw what it will take. The outdoor season is fast approaching, and I think that will only help us."
Purdue (7-5, 0-2) broke out two completely new doubles duos and was swept in the point for just the third time this season. Ohio State (13-1, 2-0) took the matches at No. 1 and No. 2 by a identical scores of 8-2. Chase Buchanan and Dino Marcan finished their win over senior Slavko Bijelica and sophomore Thomas Wilson, the only Purdue doubles team that had appeared together in a match this season, at No. 1 before Matt Allare and Shuhei Uzawa completed their victory over junior Eric Ramos and freshman Billy Heuer at No. 2. At No. 3, Justin Kronauge and Steven Williams clinched the point with an 8-3 decision over sophomores Jan-Frans Engelbrecht and Matt Manasse.
As the match moved to singles, Allare grabbed the first win courtesy of a 6-1, 6-0 decision over Heuer, who contested his first singles match since Feb. 5. Buchanan, the 23rd-ranked singles player in the NCAA, was the next to finish as he won 6-1, 6-0 over Bijelica at No. 1. Devin McCarthy clinched the match for the Buckeyes with his 6-1, 6-0 win over Manasse, who appeared in the singles lineup for the first time since Jan. 30, at No. 6.
Uzawa, the 91st-ranked singles player in the NCAA, stretched the lead at No. 5 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Engelbrecht. The final two matches left on court also featured nationally-ranked Buckeyes and saw 30th-ranked Kronauge complete a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Wilson at No. 3 before Marcan closed the match with a 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory over Ramos at No. 2.
Purdue, which completed a stretch of three straight road matches Friday, returns home for a March 21 doubleheader. The Boilermakers are scheduled to host Western Illinois at 11 a.m. ET before taking on Morehead State at 4 p.m.