Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Purdue
Wildcats Bested By Boilermakers, 5-2
4/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 11, 2010
Results
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern suffered its third consecutive 5-2 conference loss, this one at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers, Sunday afternoon at Vandy Christie Tennis Center. NU's points came thanks to singles victories from Joshua Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) and Alex Sanborn (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid), whose victory at No. 6 gives him three wins in his last four matches.
"It was tough to lose that doubles point because it certainly was winnable," said head coach Arvid Swan. "It's hard to win four out of six singles matches in a talented conference. It proved too difficult today."
Despite an NU win at No. 2, the Boilermakers came out on top in the doubles point. First, at No. 1, Slavko Bijelica and Branko Kuzmanovic took an 8-3 frame over Andrew McCarthy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) and Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck) with a Bijelica return winner on match point.
The 'Cats quickly evened it behind Graves and Spencer Wolf (Coral Springs, Fla./Laurel Springs), who dispatched P.J. Rose and Thomas Wilson, 8-4, at No. 2. Graves and Wolf have now won three consecutive matches at No. 2 doubles.
With doubles down to the wire at No. 3, Sanborn and Eric Spector (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) dug themselves out of a 3-6 hole, winning four consecutive points to take a 7-6 lead. Purdue's Eric Ramos and Paul Foley regained the momentum to clinch the point for the Boilermakers, 9-7.
Purdue took a 2-0 lead in the dual behind a Kuzmanovic victory at No. 3 over Andrew McCarthy. Down a break early in the second, the Wildcat junior scraped his hand and despite needing to be bandaged twice to contain the bleeding, managed to prolong the set.
Reitz dropped his No. 5 singles match to the Boilermakers' Paul Foley, 7-5, 6-1 which gave Purdue a 3-0 lead. Sanborn kept the 'Cats alive with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Thomas Wilson at No. 6. The Wildcat senior sealed the match with a volley into the open court, marking his third win in four matches.
The clincher came at No. 4, where Eric Ramos defeated NU freshman Wolf in straight sets.
Graves notched NU's second point with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Slavko Bijelica at No. 1. Bijelica held to stay alive in the second set, but Graves served out the match with an overhead winner on match point.
The only match of the day to go the distance was No. 2 between Sidarth Balaji (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) and Purdue senior P.J. Rose. Rose took a quick first set, but the second set proved to be much closer as both players saved multiple break points. Balaji managed to claw out the set, 7-5, but Rose bounced back in the third to take the match with a 6-4 third frame.
The 'Cats are back on the road next weekend for their final regular season road trip, taking on Minnesota and Iowa on April 16 and 18, respectively.
Purdue 5, #48 Northwestern 2
Singles
1. Joshua Graves (NU) def. Slavko Bijelica (PUR) 7-5, 6-2
2. P.J. Rose (PUR) def. Sidarth Balaji (NU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
3. Branko Kuzmanovic (PUR) def. Andrew McCarthy (NU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Eric Ramos (PUR) def. Spencer Wolf (NU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Paul Foley (PUR) def. Tobias Reitz (NU) 7-5, 6-1
6. Alex Sanborn (NU) def. Thomas Wilson (PUR) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. Slavko Bijelica/Branko Kuzmanovic (PUR) def. Tobias Reitz/Andrew McCarthy (NU) 8-3
2. Joshua Graves/Spencer Wolf (NU) def. P.J. Rose/Thomas Wilson (PUR) 8-4
3. Eric Ramos/Paul Foley (PUR) def. Alex Sanborn/Eric Spector (NU) 9-7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,5,6,4,1,2)
