Feb. 13, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - With just the fourth all-time win against them, the Purdue women's tennis team defeated the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday at the Schwartz Tennis Center by a 5-2 tally.
The Old Gold and Black started doubles with 3-1 leads on courts 2 and 3. No. 68 team of senior Bhavani Tirumurti and sophomore Imogen Golder cruised past Misha Testerman and Caitlin McGraw 8-3 at No. 3. To decide the point for the Boilers, junior Anna Dushkina and sophomore Gisella Pere extended their lead over Jessica Stiles and CeCe Witten to 7-4 and closed with a 40-15 game to claim the win.
Wining Purdue's second overall point was Pere at No. 6 singles over Testerman 6-1, 6-1. Pere is now 7-2 in spring dual-matches and 4-1 from the 6th court.
Close behind was Tirumurti finishing off Blajkevitch 6-2, 6-1. The senior leads the team in duals, undefeated in the No. 3 spot and 7-2 overall.
For the third time this season, Dushkina clinched the match for Purdue at No. 4 singles where she took over McGraw 6-4, 6-2.
Golder beat out CeCe Witten 6-4 in set No. 1, but the Wildcat evened it out in the second, also by 6-4. The Boilermaker went to work and advanced to 6-3 for the season after claiming the tiebreaker and match 6-4, 4-6, (10-7).
Schmidt kept it close, but fell 6-4 in the first set to Stiles. It was much the same in set No. 2 again 6-4, 6-4 for Stiles. With an equally close match, Jennifer Rabot dropped her first set to Broderick 6-4, but came back to take the second 6-2. They played out the third, but Broderick was too much, winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
"I was really pleased with the way the team competed today," said head coach Laura Glitz. "From beginning to end, they played with a lot of intensity and energy and, as result, we beat a tough Kentucky team. Overall, I felt we got better across the board, so we need to continue that this week in practice and next weekend against Missouri."
The Boilermakers face the Tigers of Missouri at Schwartz in their last home match until Big Ten Conference play on March 12 (Indiana). The Tigers come to town on Sunday, Feb. 20, at noon ET.
There is no admission to the Schwartz Tennis Center. Free pizza will be offered to all Purdue women's tennis fans. Live results and streaming video can be found at purduesports.com.
No. 53 Purdue vs. Kentucky - Agate
Feb. 13, 2011
West Lafayette, Ind. - Schwartz Tennis Center
Purdue (5-1) 5, Kentucky (0-6) 2
Doubles
1. Megan Broderick/Khristina Blajkevitch (UK) def. No. 13 Jennifer Rabot/Mara Schmidt (Purdue) 8-4
2. Anna Dushkina/Gisella Pere (Purdue) def. Jessica Stiles/CeCe Witten (UK) 8-4
3. No. 68 Bhavani Tirumurti/Imogen Golder (Purdue) def. Misha Testerman/Caitlin McGraw (UK) 8-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2*
Singles
1. Megan Broderick (UK) def. Jennifer Rabot (PUR) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
2. Jessica Stiles (UK) def. Mara Schmidt (Purdue) 6-4, 6-4
3. Bhavani Tirumurti (Purdue) def. Khristina Blajkevitch (UK) 6-2, 6-1
4. Anna Dushkina (PUR) def. Caitlin McGraw (UK) 6-4, 6-2
5. Imogen Golder (PUR) def. CeCe Witten (UK) 6-4, 4-6, (10-7)
6. Gisella Pere (PUR) def. Misha Testerman (UK) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4*, 2, 5, 1