April 29, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS ââ'¬" Seventh-seeded Purdue fell to second-seeded Northwestern in a 4-1 quarterfinal decision outdoors on Friday at the Baseline Tennis Center to end its run in the Big Ten Tournament. Senior Mateus Silva earned the lone point in his final outing for the Boilermakers, who end the season with a record of 17-10.
Purdue's 17 wins this season included 10 at home, seven shutouts, six on the road and four over ranked foes. The Boilermakers' 17 wins are the most since 19 in 2013. Highlighting their 17 wins was an eight-dual match win streak that matched the longest winning streak since March/April 2014.
The 13th-ranked Wildcats jumped ahead early, taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2. First it was Northwestern's No. 2 pair of Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire topping Gergely Madarasz and Ricky Medinilla 6-4.
A 7-5 showing from Strong Kirchheimer and Fedor Baev against Dominik Sochurek and Benjamin Ugarte captured the point for the Wildcats.
Northwestern continued to dominate into singles action. Wins at Nos. 2, 3 and 6 were registered in straight sets and the Wildcats surrendered just 11 games to Purdue.
No. 75 Kirchheimer defeated Medinilla (6-1, 6-0) and 40th-ranked Shropshire beat No. 97 Ugarte (6-1, 6-2) to give Northwestern a 3-0 advantage.
Silva battled past Fedor Baev in a 7-5, 6-3 showing at the No. 4 spot to earn the Boilermakers' lone point on the board. At the bottom of the lineup, Alp Horoz defeated Renan Hanayama 6-4, 6-3 to close out the match for the Wildcats.
Silva, who hails from Campinas, Brazil, posted an 18-9 record in his final campaign. He closed the book on his Purdue career with a 65-47 singles record and he tallied 37 wins in doubles play during his four years.
"From our side, we were excited to see how much he grew the past three years," Purdue head men's tennis coach Pawel Gajdzik said. "Mateus is a true Boilermaker at heart. He's going to graduate with a great degree. I know he is going to be missed on this team and is always welcomed with open arms."