April 26, 2012
EVANSTON, Ill. - The No. 10 seed Purdue men's tennis team fell to the No. 7 seed Michigan State Spartans in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Boilermakers fell, 4-3.
Purdue started the match the same way it did the first time the teams met, by taking the doubles point. Krisztian Krocsko and Szymon Tatarczyk won at No. 2, 8-6, over Harry Jadun and Austin Brooks. Then, Aaron Dujovne and Diego Acosta continued great doubles play with an 8-4 win to clinch the point.
Dujovne then made the score 2-0 with a quick 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 5 over Brooks. Acosta picked up his first career win at No. 2 as he knocked off Denis Bogatov, 6-4, 6-2. However, the Purdue couldn't win another match which would have given them the win.
Michigan State got on the board with a win at No. 6 as Gijs Linders knocked off Evan Hawkins, 6-2, 6-1. Drew Lied then outlasted Krocsko at No. 4, 6-4, 6-3, to make the score 3-2. Aaron Pfister tied the score as he won on the top singles court. Pfister topped Kovacs 7-5, 6-4. The match came down to court three and Tatarczyk against Ronnie Hulewicz. The Spartan hung on to win, 6-1, 6-3, and complete the comeback for Michigan State.
The Boilermakers now must await their NCAA fate. The tournament field will be announced next week.