WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Despite a ranked win by Ena Babic in singles, the Purdue women's tennis team could not pull off the upset of No. 20 Tennessee on Friday afternoon at the Schwartz Tennis Center, falling 6-1.
The Boilermakers found themselves trailing after the opening doubles point. After the Lady Volunteers took the opening match at No. 1, Purdue responded at No. 2 with a 6-2 win from Nathalia Wolf Gasparin and Zala Dovnik over Johanna Silva and Rebeka Mertena. The opening point came down to No. 3, where Babic and Alex Sabe dropped a tight content against Carly Briggs and Ariadna Riley 6-4.
Babic provided the lone point on the afternoon for Purdue at the top of the singles lineup. The junior rallied from a set down to beat No. 70 Kaitlin Staines 5-7, 7-6(5), 11-9. The win was Babic's third against a ranked opponent in her career.
In singles play, the Boilermakers battled against one of the strongest in the nation, facing three opponents ranked in the latest ORACLE/ITA poll. Dovnik gave No. 59 Johanna Silva all she could handle in the opening set, but the Boilermakers' No. 4 dropped her match 7-5, 6-2.
PURDUE (3-4) 1, #20 TENNESSEE (4-1) 6
SINGLES
1. Ena Babic (PUR) def. No. 70 Kaitlin Staines (Ten)- 5-7, 7-6(5), 11-9
2. No. 38 Rebeka Mertena (TEN) def. Alex Sabe (PUR)- 6-1,6-0
3. Carly Briggs (TEN) def. Seira Shimizu (PUR)-6-1,6-4
4. No. 59 Johanna Silva (TEN) def. Zala Dovnik (PUR)- 7-5,6-2
5. Hadley Doyle (TEN) def. Csilla Fodor (PUR)- 6-3, 6-3
6. Julie Ball (TEN) def. Zeynep Naz Ozturk (PUR)- 6-3, 6-3
DOUBLES
1. Kaitlin Staines/Tenika McGiffin (TEN) def. Seira Shimizu/Nikol Dobrilova (PUR) – 6-1
2. Zala Dovnik/Nathalia Wolf Gasparin (PUR) def. Johanna Silva/Rebeka Mertena (TEN) – 6-2
3. Carly Briggs/ Ariadna Riley (TEN) def. Ena Babic/ Alex Sabe (PUR)- 6-4
Singles order: 2,5,3,6,4,1
Doubles order: 1, 2, 3
UP NEXT
Purdue returns to the Schwartz Tennis Center Sunday to take on Notre Dame at 2 p.m.
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