WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team lost its first match of the season Saturday, slipping to No. 23 Ole Miss 5-2 inside the Schwartz Tennis Center. Despite the loss, freshman Ena Babic earned a meaningful victory against No. 62 Sabina Machalova on court three. The 6-3, 6-4 win was the newcomer's first against a ranked opponent.
Sophomore Rafaella Baquerizo earned Purdue its only other point of the contest, defeating Alexa Bortles 6-4, 6-1 on court four. She and fellow sophomore Caitlin Calkins - who did not compete against the Rebels - stand as the last two unbeaten Boilermakers this spring.
No. 86 Silvia Ambrosio dropped her first dual match as a Boilermaker to No. 50 Arianne Hartono 6-2, 6-4 on court one. The junior transferred to Purdue from Marquette last fall. Alex Sabe and Seira Shimizu also fell to ranked opponents on courts two and four, respectively. Sabe was bested by No. 81 Natalie Suk 6-4, 6-0, while Shimizu lost to No. 95 Tea Jandric 6-1, 7-5.
Zala Dovnik fell 6-1, 6-2 to Tereza Janatova on court six in the first match off.
In doubles, Purdue was blanked by Ole Miss after posting a perfect 6-0 record in last Saturday's doubleheader. On court one, Ambrosio and Babic fell to No. 13 Bortles and Hartono 7-6 (8-6). Baquerizo and Shimizu lost to another ranked Rebel tandem on court two, falling 7-5 against No. 22 Machalova and Suk. Finally, Dovnik and Sabe were bested by Janatova and partner Allie Sanford 6-2 on court three.
The Boilermakers return to action at home Friday for a doubleheader against Saint Louis and Valparaiso. Matches are scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and 6 p.m., respectively, and are the final two contests in Purdue's opening home stand at the Schwartz Tennis Center.