March 1, 2014
EVANSTON, Ill. - Upsets by Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum and Andjela Djokovic provided a strong singles surge for the 39th-ranked Purdue women's tennis team, but it wasn't enough as the Boilermakers fell short to No. 7 Northwestern, 4-3, Saturday at the Combe Tennis Center. The Boilermakers evened their overall record at 4-4, while falling to 0-1 in their Big Ten opener. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 7-3, 2-0 Big Ten.
Despite giving up the doubles point, the Purdue tandem of Mara Schmidt and Krisztina Kapitany got back to their winning ways and did so in dramatic fashion. The duo prevailed against the 30th-ranked Wildcat team of Veronica Corning and Alicia Barnett, 8-7 (9-7), for their second win over a ranked pair in 2014 to improve to 8-3.
The lower half of the Boilermakers' lineup led surge as the singles matches waged in a back and forth battle. Barnett added to the Wildcats' lead, dealing Purdue freshman Nicole Robinson a 6-3, 6-2 setback at the No. 3 position. Djokovic brought the team score to 2-1 as she picked up the sixth win of her rookie campaign. She notched a dominating 6-3, 6-2, upset victory over No. 97 Maddie Lipp while playing at the No. 6 spot.
Northwestern took a 3-1 edge with a win at No. 1, but Bernard-Feigenbaum answered as she took down No. 110 Jillian Rooney in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4. The win pushed the sophomore, who hails from New York City, record to 6-3. A second straight Purdue victory came via Kapitany's strong comeback against Lok Sze Leung at the No. 5 spot, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
Tied at 3-3, the deciding match at No. 2 went down to the wire between Boilermaker Daniela Vidal and Northwestern's No. 37 Belinda Niu. Vidal took the first set in the breaker, 7-6 (8-6), only to see the Wildcat storm back for a 6-3 win in the second set. Niu denied both Purdue's and Vidal's upset bid, winning the third and decisive set 6-3 to give the dual match to Northwestern.
The Boilermakers return home to the Basham Courts of the Schwartz Tennis Center March 9 at 12 p.m. ET when they host Illinois in their first home Big Ten match of the season. The dual match will be streamed live on the Big Ten Digital Network.
No. 7 Northwestern 4, No. 39 Purdue 3 | Box Score
Doubles
1: Mara Schmidt/Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. No. 30 Veronica Corning/Alicia Barnett (Northwestern), 8-7 (9-7)
2: Belinda Niu/Brooke Rischbieth (Northwestern) def. Daniela Vidal/Natalia Davila (Purdue), 8-1
3: Maddie Lipp/Manon Peri (Northwestern) def. Claudia Escribens/Nicole Robinson (Purdue), 8-5
Singles
1: No. 49 Veronica Corning (Northwestern) def. Mara Schmidt (Purdue), 6-3, 6-2
2: No. 37 Belinda Niu (Northwestern) def. Daniela Vidal (Purdue), 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-3
3: Alicia Barnett (Northwestern) def. Nicole Robinson (Purdue), 6-3, 6-2
4: Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) def. No. 110 Jillian Rooney (Northwestern), 6-4, 6-4
5: Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. Lok Sze Leung (Northwestern), 7-5, 6-3, 7-5
6: Andjela Djokovic (Purdue) def. No. 97 Maddie Lipp (Northwestern), 6-3, 6-2