April 3, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team was defeated 6-1 Saturday afternoon by 15th-ranked Illinois on the Basham Courts inside the Schwartz Tennis Center.
"I think we came out much more focused in doubles," head coach Pawel Gajdzik said. "We competed hard but didn't convert on some chances and, as a result, lost the point. We continued to fight in singles, but we couldn't swing a few close first sets our way. Eric (Ramos) was a bright spot. He battled through pain to provide us with toughness, which is what we are looking for. Our schedule doesn't get any easier with a tough road trip next weekend, but we need to continue to get better and work hard so we can surprise some people before this season is over."
Purdue (10-9, 0-4 Big Ten) battled hard throughout doubles, but ultimately dropped all three matches. Illinois (11-7, 3-0) was able to take the point with 8-5 wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots. Marek Czerwinski and Abe Souza grabbed a win over seniors Slavko Bijelica and Branko Kuzmanovic at the top spot, while Dennis Nevolo and Buno Abdelnour upended sophomore Jan-Frans Engelbrecht and freshman Billy Heuer at the bottom. The closest match of the segment was at No. 2, where Connor Roth and Stephen Hoh were able to earn a 9-8 (8) win over senior P.J. Rose and junior Eric Ramos.
The Fighting Illini continued to win as the match moved to singles. Souza, the 85th-ranked singles player in the NCAA, won 6-3, 6-1 over Kuzmanovic at No. 3 before Bijelica was forced to retire from his match with 35th-ranked Nevolo while Nevolo held a 6-3, 4-0 lead. Illinois clinched the match at No. 5 when Hoh finished off a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Foley, and then Bruno Adbelnour picked up a 6-4, 6-2 win over Engelbrecht at No. 6.
The final two matches were on court well past the first four, and both kept the crowd engaged. Ramos prevailed with a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory over Roth at No. 4 for his 10th victory this season and first in Big Ten play. The match, which took close to three-and-a-half hours to complete, was brought to a close when 57th-ranked Czerwinski closed out Rose 6-3, 7-6 (4) at No. 2.
Purdue dropped to 9-3 inside the Schwartz Tennis Center this season and remains tied with the 2002 and 1997 squads for the most home wins in the last 15 years. The Boilermakers travel to Wisconsin next Saturday to take on the 30th-ranked Badgers at 1 p.m. ET.