April 19, 2009
IOWA CITY, IA – – The University of Iowa men’s tennis team defeated Purdue Sunday, 4-3. With the victory, the 63rd-ranked Hawkeyes end the regular season at 12-8 overall and 4-6 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers fall to 7-15 overall and 1-9 in conference play.
“Today was a very fitting way to finish off a very good regular season,” said Head Coach Steve Houghton. “It was especially appropriate that Christian Bierich cap off his final match at home with a deciding win.”
Purdue won two of three doubles matches to claim the point. The duo of Tommy McGeorge and Will Vasos continued their stellar play. The pair defeated Branko Kuzmanovic and R.J. Rose, 8-4, at the No. 2 position to finish the regular season at 17-3 overall in doubles play.
Iowa claimed four singles victories on the afternoon. McGeorge defeated Griff Nienberg 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 6 position. Vasos defeated P.J. Rose 7-6, 6-3 at the No. 4 position. Nikita Zotov won at the No. 3 position. The sophomore defeated Eric Ramos 7-6, 6-1. Christian Bierich then clinched the victory for the Hawkeyes in dramatic fashion. Playing in his last home match, the senior came back from an early deficit to defeat Slavko Bijelica 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 1 position.
Iowa, seeded ninth, will face eighth-seeded Wisconsin Thursday at the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, MI. The match is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. CT at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Hawkeyes lost at Wisconsin during the regular season, 5-2.
#63 Iowa – 4
Purdue – 3
Doubles:
1. Slavko Bijelica/Griff Nienberg (PUR) def. #78 Christian Bierich/Reinoud Haal (IOWA), 8-6
2. Tommy McGeorge/Will Vasos (IOWA) def. Branko Kuzmanovic/R.J. Rose (PUR), 8-4
3. Eric Ramos/Thomas Wilson (PUR) def. Greg Holm/Tom Mroziewicz (IOWA), 8-5
Singles:
1. Christian Bierich (IOWA) def Slavko Bijelica (PUR), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
2. Branko Kuzmanovic (PUR) def. Reinoud Haal (IOWA), 6-4, 6-3
3. Nikita Zotov (IOWA) def. Eric Ramos (PUR), 7-6, 6-1
4. Will Vasos (IOWA) def. P.J. Rose (PUR), 7-6, 6-3
5. Roberto Cabrini (PUR) def. Tom Mroziewicz (IOWA), 6-3, 6-4
6. Tommy McGeorge (IOWA) def. Griff Nienberg (PUR), 6-3, 6-2