Feb. 10, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 48 Purdue women's tennis team proved to be too much for Western Michigan from the opening serve as the Boilermakers blanked the Broncos, 7-0.
In doubles, Purdue (4-1) jumped out early. The Old Gold and Black won the first game on each of the three courts. Imogen Golder and Gisella Pere didn't look back from there as the No. 2 doubles pair walloped Caroline Aleck and April Kerr, 8-2. The other two matches lasted quite a while longer, but the results were the same. Jennifer Rabot and Mara Schmidt won 8-4 at No. 1 over Nini Sujashvili and Kethleen Hawkins to clinch the doubles point. Lynda Xepoleas and Daniela Vidal finished just moments later with a 9-7 at No. 3.
Western Michigan (5-3) struggled to get things going in singles. Vidal used her momentum from the doubles comeback to blank Maria Nivia at No. 4, 6-0, 6-0. Not long after, Golder wrapped up a shutout of her own on Aleck at No. 6. Golder's win gave Purdue a 3-0 lead.
Xepoleas clinched the win for the Boilermakers with a win at No. 2. After winning the first game in her match, Xepoleas dropped the next two to trail, 2-1. The freshman responded by winning eight games in a row to win the first set and hold a 3-0 lead in the second. From there Xepoleas cruised en route to a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Pere made the score 5-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 5 over Rachel Denny. Schmidt capped off an impressive performance of her own to improve her 2012 singles record to 8-0 including 5-0 in dual matches. The sophomore took down Hawkins, 6-2, 6-2. Rabot's match at No. 1 was the last left on the court. The senior took the first set, 6-0, but fell behind 4-1 in the second. Rabot rallied back to tie the score at five before taking the final two games to win, 7-5, and complete the shutout for Purdue.
The Boilermakers improve to 18-12 all-time against Western Michigan. Friday's win is also the third straight over the Broncos.
Purdue will be back in action next weekend to host a pair of non-conference foes. Wichita State will square off against the Boilermakers on Friday, Feb. 17, at 3 p.m. ET while Marshall will play at noon on Sunday. Live results and a video stream will be available for both matches on PurdueSports.com.