TULSA, Okla. - The 38th-ranked Purdue women's tennis team avenged last season's loss to Tulsa by upending the 25th-ranked Golden Hurricane 4-3 Saturday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The Boilermakers (2-1) had to come from behind to deal Tulsa (6-3) its third loss of the season. The win over No. 25 Tulsa matches the highest team the Old Gold & Black has defeated since last season when they knocked off No. 25 TCU, 4-2.
After coming up short in the battle for the doubles point going 1-2, Purdue broke through in singles play taking four out of the six singles matches to steal the win. The tandem of Daniela Vidal and Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum registered the only doubles win in the match, outscoring their opponents Ksenia Laskutova and Renata Kuricova, 6-3. The win lifted the upperclassmen's record to 6-2 in the spring season.
Strong singles play at the top and bottom of the lineup fueled the Boilermaker comeback. Senior and 118th-ranked Vidal took both singles sets in her match against the Golden Hurricane's Laskutova, 6-1, 6-3, to push her overall record to 5-1. Bernard-Feigenbaum also contributed to the Boilermakers' success while pushing her record to 5-1 with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Yelena Nemchen.
A native of Budapest, Hungary, Krisztina Kapitany used a 6-2, 6-3 decision to defeat Tulsa's Renata Kuricova for the third win of her junior campaign. Rounding out Purdue's victories was senior Lynda Xepoleas. The senior notched a 6-2, 6-4 win over Saana Saarteinen in the No. 5 spot.
Up next, the Boilermakers will open up B1G play when they travel to No. 22 Northwestern on Feb. 15 for a 1 p.m. ET dual match.
NO. 38 PURDUE 4, NO. 25 TULSA 3
Doubles
1: Daniela Vidal/Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) def. Ksenia Laskutova/Renata Kuricova (Tulsa), 6-3
2: Marcelina Cichon/Dobby Leenabanchong (Tulsa) def. Deborah Suarez/Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue), 6-3
3: Saana Saarteinen/Mahitha Dadireddy (Tulsa) def. Nicole Robinson/Lynda Xepoleas (Purdue), 6-1
Singles
1: No. 118 Daniela Vidal (Purdue) def. Ksenia Laskutova (Tulsa), 6-1, 6-3
2: Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) def. Yelena Nemchen (Tulsa), 6-2, 7-6 (4)
3: Dobby Leenabanchong (Tulsa) def. Deborah Suarez (Purdue), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4)
4: No. 70 Marcelina Cichon (Tulsa) def. No. 105 Andjela Djokovic (Purdue), 6-2, 6-4
5: Lynda Xepoleas (Purdue) def. Saana Saarteinen (Tulsa), 6-2, 6-4
6: Krisztina Kapitany (Purdue) def. Renata Kuricova (Tulsa), 6-2, 6-3