April 5, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 37 Purdue women's tennis team won its third straight match Saturday as the Boilermakers downed Iowa, 4-2, on the Basham Courts of the Schwartz Tennis Center. Sophomore Krisztina Kapitany was credited with scoring the dual-clinching point with her three-set victory at No. 4 singles. The win lifed Purdue's record to 8-7, 4-2 in Big Ten, while the Hawkeyes slipped to 8-9, 2-4 Big Ten.
"Going forward every match is going to be a battle," head women's tennis coach Laura Glitz said. "We have to compete for every point. Like Krisztina [Kapitany] today, she stepped up; she really battled in the third set. That's what I like to see."
Purdue held a 3-2 lead and needed just one point to clinch the dual match. It was going to come down to Kapitany at No. 5 or Claudia Escribens at No. 6 to bring it in. After taking the first set from Annette Dohanics, 6-4, Kapitany was held scoreless in the second, 6-0. The decisive third set was all Kapitany as she posted a 6-3 victory. The Budapest, Hungary, native moved to 10-6 with the win. Play at No. 6 was halted with Escribens holding a 2-1 edge in the third set.
Earlier in doubles, Kapitany and Natalia Davila gave the Boilermakers an early advantage by posting an 8-5 win over Shelby Talcott and Dahonics while playing in at No. 2. It was the first time Kapitany and Davila had played together, marking the 11th different doubles combination Purdue has used this season.
"Obviously with Daniela [Vidal] out of the lineup, that has a lot of impact on us in both doubles and singles," Glitz said. "This team is doing a great job and they are stepping up. They are doing their part and ultimately, that's what it's all about. We win as a team and we lose as a team."
Iowa evened the best of three series by taking No. 1 with Ruth Seaborne and Morven McCulloch's 8-6 decision over Mara Schmidt and Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum, putting the decisive point on the play at No. 3. Nicole Robinson and Escribens rose to the occasion by downing the Hawkeye duo of Amiee Tarun and Katie Zordani, 8-5. The freshman/sophomore tandem has won three consecutive matches to even their record together at 4-4. The Boilermakers took the doubles point for the eighth time this season and the fourth time in Big Ten play. They are 6-1 overall and 4-0 against Big Ten opponents when they take the doubles point.
As play pushed into singles, Bernard-Feigenbaum gave Purdue a 2-0 edge with a straight-set 6-3, 6-1 victory over McCulloch. The sophomore from New York, N.Y., won her third straight match and improved to 11-5 while seeing her first action in the No. 2 spot. She also owns a 6-0 mark against Big Ten competition.
Talcott got Iowa on the board with her 6-1, 6-2 win against Robinson. Andjela Djokovic responded by taking a breaker victory from Zordani, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) to give the Boilermakers a 2-1 lead. With the win, the Jindalee, Australia, native moved to 10-4 in her rookie campaign.
The Hawkeyes struck again as their ace, Seaborne, who's ranked 108th nationally, captured a 6-4, 6-3 match from Schmidt at No. 1, setting up the showdown at Nos. 5 and 6.
The Purdue women's tennis team will be back in action Sunday at the Schwartz Tennis Center hosting Nebraska (8-11, 0-6 Big Ten) at 12 p.m. ET.
No. 37 Purdue 4, Iowa 2 | Box Score
Doubles
1: Ruth Seaborne/Morven McCulloch (Iowa) def. Mara Schmidt/Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue), 8-6
2: Krisztina Kapitany/Natalia Davila (Purdue) def. Shelby Talcott/Annette Dohanics (Iowa), 8-5
3: Nicole Robinson/Claudia Escribens (Purdue) def. Amiee Tarun/Katie Zordani (Iowa), 8-3
Singles
1: No. 108 Ruth Seaborne (Iowa) def. Mara Schmidt (Purdue), 6-4, 6-3
2: Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) def. Morven McCulloch (Iowa), 6-3, 6-1
3: Shelby Talcott (Iowa) def. Nicole Robinson (Purdue), 6-1, 6-2
4: Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. Annette Dohanics (Iowa), 6-4, 0-6, 6-3
5: Andjela Djokovic (Purdue) def. Katie Zordani (Iowa), 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)
6: Claudia Escribens (Purdue) vs. Ellen Silver (Iowa), 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 2-1 DNF