Feb. 12, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team had a strong overall team performance en route to a 6-1 win over Butler on Saturday inside the Schwartz Tennis Center.
"We came out with good energy," head coach Pawel Gajdzik said. "We finished up singles on a strong note. We played much better doubles, too. We started a little sluggish our first few games, but we ended up sweeping all the doubles for the second time this season. We are looking forward to continuing to get better starting tonight against Eastern Illinois."
Purdue (3-2) took an early lead on the Bulldogs after sweeping the doubles point for just the second time this season. Senior Eric Ramos and sophomore Billy Heuer were the first to finish after claiming an 8-4 victory over Zach Ervin and David Dolins at No. 3. The Boilermakers captured the doubles point after the 37th-ranked doubles team of Krisztian Krocsko and Szymon Tatarczyk defeated Chris Herron and Bryce Warren, 8-5, at No. 1. Aaron Dujovne and Mark Kovacs completed the sweep after beating Brandon Bayliss and Lenz Theodor, 8-6, at No. 2.
The Boilermakers picked up right where they left off as singles play began. Pawel Poziomski was the first to record a singles tally as he picked up a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 6 over Dolins. Purdue increased its lead to 3-0 when Ramos earned his second win of the season, a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Theodor at No. 4.
Dujovne was able to keep his perfect record intact as he moved to 5-0 on the year with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5 over Ervin. Butler (1-5) was finally able to get on the board after Herron topped Kovacs 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3. However, with the team match already decided, Tatarczyk pulled in a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2 and Krocsko capped off the morning action with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1.
"I played really well in singles today," freshman Dujovne said after the match. "It was a tough match because Ervin was inconsistent, so it was difficult to get a rhythm. However, I played well and broke him twice in both sets. I think we played well in doubles, too. We started quiet, but we recovered and finished really well. We have another chance to get better tonight, so that is a good opportunity for us."
Purdue won its 26th-straight match against Butler and now leads the all-time series 38-2. The Boilermakers will complete their Saturday doubleheader tonight when they host Eastern Illinois at 6 p.m. ET at the Schwartz Tennis Center.