April 26, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Purdue women's tennis team dominated its first round matchup in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio. The Boilermakers shut out the Michigan State Spartans, 4-0.
Weather delays pushed the start time back to 11:30 a.m. ET from the originally scheduled 10 a.m. start. That didn't slow Purdue, though. The Boilermakers stormed out in doubles play and took the point after winning on court three and court one. Gisella Pere and Imogen Golder were first to finish as the juniors knocked off Katarina Lingl and Julianne Gruber, 8-4. Then, Jennifer Rabot and Mara Schmidt took the top match over Nicole Herzog and Michaela Silesova, 8-6, to clinch the point. Lynda Xepoleas and Daniela Vidal were tied at six in their match at No. 2 with the Spartans.
Since only three singles matches were to be played at a time, random draw was used to determine the order. The first three matches would be Nos. 3, 5, and 1, with Nos. 4, 6, and 2 to begin play in that order if needed as a match would come off the court. Rabot picked up where she left off last weekend and dominated in the top match. She put together a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing of Olga Chernova to give Purdue a 2-0 lead. Schmidt was next and her result was very similar. She routed Herzog, 6-2, 6-1.
Golder clinched the match for the Boilermakers with a convincing win of her own. She beat Lingl, 6-4, 6-1, to advance Purdue on to the second round of the tournament. Vidal had begun her match at No. 4 and was leading 3-2 when Purdue earned the clinching point.
The Boilermakers move on to face the No. 4 seed Nebraska in the second round. Purdue and the Huskers met earlier this season at the Schwartz Tennis Center with Nebraska winning 5-2 on a day with temperatures near 90 degrees. That match featured three three-set wins for Nebraska on the singles courts including on court six where Pere retired due to the heat as the match was nearing four and a half hours. A full recap of that match can be found here.
Friday's match is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at the Varsity Tennis Center. Live scoring can be found through the GameDay Central page or on PurdueSports.com. Live updates will also be provided through the Ohio State tennis Twitter account, @OhioState_WTEN.
Tennis Match Results
Michigan State vs Purdue
Apr 26, 2012 at Columbus, Ohio
(OSU Varsity Indoor Tennis Center)
#30 Purdue 4, Michigan State 0
Singles competition
1. Jennifer Rabot (PURDUE) def. Olga Chernova (MSU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Marina Bohrer (MSU) vs. Lynda Xepoleas (PURDUE) no result
3. Mara Schmidt (PURDUE) def. Nicole Herzog (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Daniele Vidal (PURDUE) def. Michaela Silesova (MSU) 3-2
5. Imogen Golder (PURDUE) def. Katarina Lingl (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Dana Guentert (MSU) vs. Gisella Pere (PURDUE) no result
Doubles competition
1. Jennifer Rabot/Mara Schmidt (PURDUE) def. Nicole Herzog/Michaela Silesova (MSU) 8-6
2. Lynda Xepoleas/Daniele Vidal (PURDUE) vs. Marina Bohrer/Dana Guentert (MSU) 6-6, unfinished
3. Gisella Pere/Imogen Golder (PURDUE) def. Katarina Lingl/Julianne Gruber (MSU) 8-4
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,3)
Big Ten Tournament First Round
Singles order on court: 3,5,1,4,6,2