OXFORD, Miss. - The Purdue women's tennis team upset No. 12 Ole Miss 4-3 on Saturday at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend to seal its first victory over a top-15 or lower ranked team in more than 30 years. The closest such win recently came Feb. 15, 2013, against No. 19 Notre Dame.
With the match deadlocked at 3-apiece, sophomore Ena Babic fought hard through three sets to defeat Tea Jandric 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
Ole Miss won the doubles point at the Galtney Indoor Tennis Center. Fighting tooth and nail was Seira Shimizu and Caitlin Calkins against Tereza Janatova and Anna Vrbenska. The duo fell in a close match 6-7 (2-7). Babic and Zala Dovnik paired up to take on Alexa Bortles and Allie Sanford. The pair lost 4-6, leaving No. 19 Silvia Ambrosio and Amina Mukhametshina's battle against No. 31 Sabina Machalova and Tea Jandric unfinished.
In singles play, Ambrosio finished first for the Boilermakers to earn their first point. She defeated No. 68 Machalova 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
Shimizu claimed victory over No. 114 Vrbenska 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 to even the score and 2. Then Calkins won over Sanford 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) to tie it at 3 and set up Babic's heroics.
The ITA Kick-Off Weekend concludes Sunday when the Boilermakers (3-0) take on No. 24 Syracuse (3-0) at 3 p.m. ET. The Orange upset No. 9 Michigan 4-2 on Saturday. The match will be streamed here or check out live stats here. Be sure to follow @PurdueWTennis on all social media platforms.
With the match deadlocked at 3-apiece, sophomore Ena Babic fought hard through three sets to defeat Tea Jandric 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
Ole Miss won the doubles point at the Galtney Indoor Tennis Center. Fighting tooth and nail was Seira Shimizu and Caitlin Calkins against Tereza Janatova and Anna Vrbenska. The duo fell in a close match 6-7 (2-7). Babic and Zala Dovnik paired up to take on Alexa Bortles and Allie Sanford. The pair lost 4-6, leaving No. 19 Silvia Ambrosio and Amina Mukhametshina's battle against No. 31 Sabina Machalova and Tea Jandric unfinished.
In singles play, Ambrosio finished first for the Boilermakers to earn their first point. She defeated No. 68 Machalova 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
Shimizu claimed victory over No. 114 Vrbenska 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 to even the score and 2. Then Calkins won over Sanford 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) to tie it at 3 and set up Babic's heroics.
The ITA Kick-Off Weekend concludes Sunday when the Boilermakers (3-0) take on No. 24 Syracuse (3-0) at 3 p.m. ET. The Orange upset No. 9 Michigan 4-2 on Saturday. The match will be streamed here or check out live stats here. Be sure to follow @PurdueWTennis on all social media platforms.