Feb. 17, 2012
Final Stats
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 41 Purdue women's tennis team stretched its winning streak to four on Friday with a 5-2 win over the Wichita State Shockers.
Purdue (5-1) clinched the match with a win from Gisella Pere at No. 5. Pere won the first set, 6-1, but fell behind in the second. She trailed 5-4 to Carla Venticinque, but would not give in. Pere won the next two games with big shot after big shot to take a 6-5 lead. After Pere's winning shot to take the lead, Venticinque let out her frustrations, resulting in a point penalty. That would be costly as Pere needed only three points to win the final game and clinch the match, 6-1, 7-5.
The Boilermakers started the afternoon off with a sweep in doubles. Jennifer Rabot and Mara Schmidt got things going at No. 1. The duo cruised to an 8-2 win over Veronika Blaskova and Lucia Kovalova. Shortly after, Lynda Xepoleas and Daniela Vidal clinched the point with a win at No. 3. The freshmen routed their opponents, Delia Damaschin and Satjaporn Mahajaroenkul, 8-1. Pere and Imogen Golder completed the sweep with an 8-4 win at No. 2.
Purdue earned a 2-0 lead with a win from Schmidt at No. 3. The sophomore put together an impressive 6-2, 6-2, win over Blaskova. Vidal stretched the lead to 3-0 with a win at No. 4. The freshman knocked of Kovalova, 6-4, 6-2, just before Pere clinched the match.
Wichita State (4-2) got on the board with a hard fought, come-from-behind win at No. 6. Anna Dushkina won the first set, 6-1, but Mahajaroenkul came back to win the second, 6-4, and then held on in the tiebreak third set, 10-8. Budiharto gave the Shockers another point with a win at No. 1. She took the first set, 6-1, but Rabot would not go quietly. She fought back and won the second set, 6-4. Budiharto proved too much, though, as she pulled out the third set, 6-3.
Xepoleas wrapped up the day's action with a tough win at No. 2. The freshman won a controversial first set, 7-6 (6), over Damaschin. Damaschin was up 6-5 in the tiebreak and called a Xepoleas shot wide which would have given the Shocker the set. However, the call was overturned by the chair judge which gave the Boilermaker the point and tied the breaker at six. Xepoleas won the next two points and the set before hanging on for a 7-6 (6), 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) victory.
The Boilermakers will play again on Sunday against Marshall. The Thundering Herd will play on Saturday at the Schwartz Tennis Center against Wichita State before Sunday's matchup. The Boilermakers and Thundering Herd are scheduled to start at noon ET. Live scoring and a video stream of a select singles and doubles match will be available on PurdueSports.com.