Jan. 21, 2012
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Purdue women's tennis team had another good day at the Yale Invitational on Saturday. The Boilermakers started off with a win in the morning singles match against No. 22 Tulsa and followed it up with a narrow victory over No. 30 Yale in doubles.
Jennifer Rabot was back in the No. 1 spot to start the day and got off to an early one set lead, 6-2. However, the match went back and forth before the Purdue senior fell, 4-6, in the second before dropping the third and the match, 2-6. At No. 2, Lynda Xepoleas had a similar match and outcome as Rabot. The freshman dropped the first set, 4-6, before bouncing back with a solid 6-3 victory in the second. However, Xepoleas would fall in the third, 2-6.
The Boilermakers finally got on the board with a bit of a come-from-behind victory at No. 3. Mara Schmidt trailed 5-2 in the first set before storming back to take the set, 7-6. The momentum was then clearly on her side as she dominated the second set, 6-2, and pulled out the straight sets victory. Daniela Vidal bounced back after a tough singles match on Friday and controlled the No. 5 singles match. Vidal won both sets by the score of 6-3. Anna Dushkina also controlled her match and was perfect in the first set. The senior blanked her opponent, 6-0, in the first and then cruised to a 6-4 victory in the second to secure her match.
At No. 6, Imogen Golder was in control throughout the entire match. The junior was dominant in both sets and secured the fourth point and the singles victory for the Boilermakers with a 6-1, 6-2 win. Gisella Pere played at No. 7 on the day and also won her match, 6-4, 6-0.
In the afternoon doubles match, the Boilermakers struggled at the beginning and trailed on every court. However, the team showed its resiliency and pulled out two of the top three matches. At No. 1, Rabot and Schmidt were in an even battle, but ended up coming out on top, 9-8. At No. 2, the junior duo of Pere and Golder came up just shot and fell, 6-8. The pair of freshmen at No. 3 continues to prove to be a tough team as Xepoleas and Vidal won, 8-6.
If this weekend's matches were a true dual and sanctioned, the Boilermakers would have pulled out a 4-3 victory over No. 30 Yale. However, the tournament is a hidden dual and therefore does not count towards ITA records.
On Sunday, the Boilermakers will face Auburn in singles at 9 a.m. Purdue will then wrap up the weekend invitational with a doubles match against Tulsa at noon. Check Purdue's Women's Tennis Facebook page for the most up-to-date information and scoring from the tournament. Results and a full recap of Sunday's action will be posted at PurdueSports.com.