BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Purdue women's tennis team earned a valuable Governor's Cup point Saturday, taking down the Hoosiers 4-3 inside the IU Tennis Center. The Big Ten victory was the Boilermakers' third in a row and fourth overall this spring. Purdue opened the season 0-3 in conference play, but has since defeated Iowa, No. 36 Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Against Indiana, the Boilermakers struck first in doubles, securing matches on the higher two courts. Silvia Ambrosio and Caitlin Calkins bested Natalie Whalen and Olga Zavarotnaya 7-5 at the first position, while freshmen Ena Babic and Zala Dovnik edged by Caitlin Bernard and Jelly Bozovic 7-6 (7-4) at the second to secure the point.
In singles, Purdue clinched the match at 4-2 with wins on courts one, three and four. Starting at the top, Ambrosio defeated Madison Appel 6-1, 6-3; Alex Sabe outplayed Whalen 6-3, 6-4, and Seira Shimizu bested Xiwei Cai 6-2, 6-4.
Meanwhile, Boilermakers Calkins and Dovnik fell at positions five and six, respectively. The first lost 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to Bozovic, and the second slipped 6-4, 7-5 against Zavarotnaya.
With the match in hand, Babic could have increased Purdue's margin with a win on court two; however, the newcomer could not secure the third-set breaker in a 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 10-6 loss to Bernard.
Up next, the Boilermakers will host Penn State in a 3 p.m. ET dual Friday.
Singles
1. Silvia Ambrosio (PUR) def. Madison Appel (IND) 6-1, 6-3
2. Caitlin Bernard (IND) def. Ena Babic (PUR) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 10-6
3. Alex Sabe (PUR) def. Natalie Whalen (IND) 6-3, 6-4
4. Seira Shimizu (PUR) def. Xiwei Cai (IND) 6-2, 6-4
5. Jelly Bozovic (IND) def. Caitlin Calkins (PUR) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Olga Zavarotnaya (IND) def. Zala Dovnik (PUR) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
1. Silvia Ambrosio/Caitlin Calkins (PUR) def. Natalie Whalen/Olga Zavarotnaya (IND) 7-5
2. Ena Babic/Zala Dovnik (PUR) def. Caitlin Bernard/Jelly Bozovic (IND) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Madison Appel/Michelle McKamey (IND) def. Alex Sabe/Seira Shimizu (PUR) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,4,5,6,3,2)