Feb. 9, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 30 Purdue women's tennis team suffered is second loss of the season, dropping a 5-2 dual match to No. 28 Tulsa Sunday on the Basham Courts of the Schwartz Tennis Center Sunday. For the fourth time in five matches, the Boilermakers captured the doubles point and Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum was credited with a win in singles play as Purdue slipped to 3-2, 0-0 Big Ten. The Golden Hurricane improve to 6-1, 0-0 Conference USA.
The Tulsa duo of Renata Kuricova and Marcelina Cichon were the first to finish at doubles with a 6-0 shutout of Nicole Robinson and Claudia Escribens at No. 3. Boilermakers Daniela Vidal and Natalia Davila paired together for the first time in spring competition and made easy work of Maria Sant'Anna and Rongrong Leenabanchong, 6-2, at the No. 2 position. The point rested on Krisztina Kapitany and Mara Schmidt, to which they prevailed in thrilling fashion, 7-6 (7-5), over Isaura Enrique and Samantha Vickers for their seventh win as the No. 1 doubles.
Powered behind a pair of nationally ranked singles players, the Golden Hurricane won five of the singles matches, including one via tiebreaker. Tulsa jumped out by winning at Nos. 5, 1 and 6, for a 3-1 lead. In a battle of ranked players, Tulsa's 47th-ranked Vickers posted a 6-0, 6-4 decision over No. 110 Mara Schmidt.
Bernard-Feigenbaum brought the dual score to 3-2 with a come-from-behind 5-7, 6-3, 10-4 tiebreaker victory against Sant'Anna in the No. 4 spot. The win is the sophomore's first this season at the No. 4 spot and improves to 4-2 overall.
Robinson had No. 46 Yelena Nemchen on the ropes, but couldn't close the deal, dropping a 6-4, 7-6 match at No. 3. Vidal took the first set from Enrique, 6-3, only to have the Golden Hurricane storm back to deal the Maracaibo, Venezuela, native the first loss of her junior campaign in the breaker, 6-2, 10-7. Vidal's mark now stands at 8-1.
Sunday's match was played under the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's mandated experimental format. The three doubles matches each consisted of one set, with regular scoring and a tiebreaker at 6-all. Once a team won two doubles matches, the remaining doubles match was not completed. Six singles matches followed the doubles. Each singles match was two out of three sets, with each set using regular scoring, and a match tiebreaker in lieu of the third set. For more information on the experimental format, please click here.
The Boilermakers travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for a pair of dual matches against No. 28 Oklahoma on Feb. 15 and No. 49 Arkansas on Feb. 16.
No. 28 Tulsa 5, No. 30 Purdue 2 | Box Score
Doubles
1: Mara Schmidt/Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. Isaura Enrique/Samantha Vickers (Tusla), 7-6 (7-5)
2: Daniela Vidal/Natalia Davila (Purdue) def. Maria Sant'Anna/Rongrong Leenabanchong (Tulsa), 6-2
3: Renata Kuricova/Marcelina Cichon (Tulsa) def. Nicole Robinson/Claudia Escribens (Purdue), 6-0
Singles
1: No. 47 Samantha Vickers (Tulsa) def. No. 110 Mara Schmidt (Purdue), 6-0, 6-4
2: Isaura Enrique (Tulsa) def. Daniela Vidal (Purdue), 3-6, 6-2, 10-7
3: No. 46 Yelena Nemchen (Tulsa) def. Nicole Robinson (Purdue), 6-4, 7-6
4: Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) def. Maria Sant'Anna (Tulsa), 5-7, 6-3, 10-4
5: Renata Kuricova (Tulsa) def. Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue), 6-3, 6-2
6: Marcelina Cichon (Tulsa) def. Andjela Djokovic (Purdue), 7-6, 6-3