Feb. 4, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Diego Acosta and Mark Kovacs never led at the No. 3 doubles match, but that didn't stop the duo from winning 9-8 (1) and clinching the doubles point for Purdue.
"I think we were a little bit nervous at the start," Acosta said about his doubles match. "We just weren't hitting our shots. Even though we were behind, we never thought we were out of it and we were able to come back and get the win."
Purdue (2-2) picked up the doubles point thanks to Kovacs and Acosta as well as Krisztian Krocsko and Pawel Poziomski at No. 2. The latter pair was the first done with an 8-2 win over Orhan Spahic and Szymon Opieczonec.
The Boilermakers carried the momentum into singles as they won every first set. Kovacs, the 105th best singles player in the nation, extended the Purdue lead to 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 route at the top spot. Acosta was next as he knocked off Rafael Cuadrillero, 6-3, 6-3, which gave Purdue a 3-0 lead.
Evan Hawkins clinched the match with a win at No. 6. In front of several local fans, the freshman dominated Szymon Opieczonek for a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Aaron Dujovne and Szymon Tatarczyk finished almost simultaneously. Dujovne completed a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing of Martijn Admiraal at No. 3 just before Tatarczyk wrapped up a 6-3, 6-4 win over Brandon Florez at No. 2. Krocsko was the lone Boilermaker to need a third set. However, since the match had already been decided, the junior went to a tiebreaker where he took care of business for a 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (4) win which completed the shutout.
"It was nice to play in front of a lot of fans and friends," Hawkins said after he clinched the match. "I think it helps that I can rest up when I am not in the doubles line up. I can come out a bit more fresh than my opponent who may be a little bit tired from the doubles. I think that definitely can be a factor and I played pretty well today."
The Boilermakers will be back in action tonight at 5 p.m. when they host Butler. The Bulldogs are 0-3 and have a match at 1 p.m. at the Schwartz Tennis Center against Southern Illinois (0-1). Live results and a live video stream for Purdue's match can be found at PurdueSports.com.