EVANSTON, Ill. - It was a back-and-forth battle from the first serve to the last, but the 33rd-ranked Purdue women's tennis team was unable to string together consecutive victories and was edged by No. 23 Northwestern, 4-3, Sunday at the Combe Indoor Tennis Center. The Boilermakers' record was evened at 2-2 while suffering their first B1G loss of the season. NU improves to 3-2, 2-0 B1G with the win.
The doubles point was tightly contested with all three matches decided by three games or fewer. Purdue's 24th-ranked tandem of Daniela Vidal and Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum set the stage for the Old Gold & Black with an 8-6 win over 50th-ranked Alicia Barnett and Brooke Rischbieth. The duo improved to 7-2 while winning their first match as a ranked pair.
Nos. 2 and 3 doubles had a new look for Purdue. Juniors Lynda Xepoleas and Krisztina Kapitany teamed together at No. 2 and sophomores Andjela Djokovic and Nicole Robinson were at No. 3. The Wildcats evened the battle with an 8-5 win by Erin Larner and Jillian Rooney in the No. 2 slot. The point rested on No. 3 and Northwestern's Alex Chatt and Lok Sze Leung took the match in the breaker, 8-7 (6), to take a 1-0 lead.
Each singles match was critical to the dual outcome. Purdue needed to win consecutive matches in order to fight off NU, but the Wildcats clinched the match with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) showing from Leung at No. 3. The Boilermakers took three matches, winning at Nos. 2, 5 and 6, with all three wins coming in the third set.
At No. 2, Bernard-Feigenbaum captured the first set, 7-6 (5), from Larner and she returned the favor in the second, 6-2, to even the match at 1-1. Bernard-Feigenbaum asserted herself in the third set, winning 6-3. The junior now owns a record of 6-1, including a 3-1 mark as the No. 2 player.
Rooney took the opening set from Xepoleas, 6-2, only to have the Purdue senior take the second set by the same score. Xepoleas dominated in the decisive set, 6-0, to push her record to 4-1 and 2-0 in the No. 5 role.
Like Xepoleas, Kapitany stumbled out of the gate, dropping the first set to Rischbieth, 6-0. She forced a third set thanks to a 6-4 performance in the second, to which she prevailed in the breaker, 7-6 (7). The win was the junior's third straight as she improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 at No. 6.
The Boilermakers return to the Basham Courts of the Schwartz Tennis Center on Friday for the first of two weekend duals. They will first take on Arkansas Friday at 3 p.m. ET, followed by a Sunday matchup with Memphis starting at 12 p.m.
NO. 23 NORTHWESTERN 4, NO. 33 PURDUE 3
Doubles
1: No. 24 Daniela Vidal/Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) def. No. 50 Alicia Barnett/Brooke Rischbieth (Northwestern), 8-6
2: Erin Larner/Jillian Rooney (Northwestern) def. Lynda Xepoleas/Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue), 8-5
3: Alex Chatt/Lok Sze Leung (Northwestern) def. Andjela Djokovic/Nicole Robinson (Purdue), 8-7 (6)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1: Alicia Barnett (Northwestern) def. No. 105 Daniela Vidal (Purdue), 6-1, 6-4
2: Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) def. Erin Larner (Northwestern), 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3
3: Lok Sze Leung (Northwestern) def. Deborah Suarez (Purdue), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
4: Alex Chatt (Northwestern) def. Andjela Djokovic (Purdue), 6-3, 6-2
5: Lynda Xepoleas (Purdue) def. Jillian Rooney (Northwestern), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
6: Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. Brooke Rischbieth (Northwestern), 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
Order of finish: 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6