Feb. 26, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's tennis team capped off a Saturday sweep by knocking off Wisconsin-Green Bay in the night cap, 6-1, at the Schwartz Tennis Center.
"We really wanted to emphasize coming out strong in doubles," assistant coach Brandon Lenfert said. "We really needed to get after it at the start to really set the tone for our team. We didn't want Green Bay to think that they had a chance and give them confidence heading into singles."
Purdue (6-2) got off to a better start than it did in the morning by winning the first two doubles matches to earn the point. Szymon Tatarczyk and Krisztian Krocsko were the first to come away victorious after their 8-2 win over Craig Cox and Fabian Gogolin at No. 1. Next, the duo of Pawel Poziomski and Aaron Dujovne topped Christoph Hopfe and Mike Wesley, 8-4, at No. 3. The No. 2 match needed a tiebreak before the winner was decided with Erik Finkenbrink and Josh Oothoudt squeaking out an 8-7 (5) win over Mark Kovacs and Eric Ramos.
Green Bay (5-3) struggled to get things going in singles play. Krocsko built the Boilermaker lead to 2-0 after knocking off Cox at No. 2, 6-4, 6-2. Tatarczyk kept things rolling for Purdue as he cruised to a 6-4, 6-4 win in just his second match at the No. 1 spot. Poziomski clinched the match with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Oothoudt at No. 6.
Dujovne improved his record to 8-0 on the season with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win over Gogolin at No. 5. Kovacs then extended the Boilermakers' lead to 6-0 after defeating Paul Swanson in an energetic match at No. 3.
"I think Mark Kovacs did a good job of focusing today," Lenfert said. "It's tough to play a competitor like Swanson, a guy who is tough and scrappy. I think Mark's focus was there. He has done a good job of that and he really put it together today."
The Phoenix finally got on the board and prevented a shutout when Hopfe outlasted Ramos at No. 4, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.
The Boilermakers return to the courts on Wednesday, March 2, when they travel to Baylor. The first serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET from the Baylor Tennis Center.