No. 37 Purdue tops Iowa, 4-2

No. 37 Purdue tops Iowa, 4-2

April 5, 2014

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The University of Iowa women’s tennis team fell to 8-9 (1-5) on the season with a loss at No. 37 Purdue, 4-2, on Saturday at the Schwartz Tennis Center.

“This was a good battle with close games and close sets,” said UI head coach Katie Dougherty. “For the most part we played better than we have in three weeks, which is a step in the right direction.”

Iowa and Purdue split the first two doubles matches of the day. After the Boilermakers took No. 2 doubles, 8-5, senior Ruth Seaborne and junior Morven McCulloch posted an 8-6 victory at the No. 1 slot for the Hawkeyes. The tandem remains undefeated in Big Ten play (5-0) and improves to 12-2 overall, extending their win streak to eight matches.

Purdue won the doubles point with a victory at No. 3 doubles, 8-3.

“Doubles was tighter than the scores indicate,” said Dougherty. “We just came up short today.”

Iowa and Purdue exchanged victories in singles before the Boilermakers came away victorious.

Down 2-0, the Hawkeyes got on the board with a straight-set victory at No. 3 singles from junior Shelby Talcott, 6-1, 6-2. Talcott improved to 10-6 on the year, making her the second Hawkeye to amass ten wins this season.

“Today’s match was a tough one,” said Talcott. “We battled hard on all courts and were right in there with a good team. We definitely played better as a whole today and will bring the energy and fight into our next matches.”

Purdue extended the lead to 3-1 with a victory at the No. 5 position, but Seaborne brought the Hawkeyes back to within one with a straight-set victory at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-3. Seaborne moves to 11-5 (4-2) on the year and is now 6-1 in matches away from Iowa City.

Purdue sealed the victory with a win at No. 4 singles.

The Hawkeyes are back in action on Sunday with an 11 a.m. (CT) matchup at No. 43 Indiana.

No. 37 Purdue 4, Iowa 2

Singles:
1. Ruth Seaborne (IOWA) def. Mara Schmidt (PUR) 6-4, 6-3
2. T.Bernard-Feigenbaum (PUR) def. Morven McCulloch (IOWA) 6-3, 6-1
3. Shelby Talcott (IOWA) def. Nicole Robinson (PUR) 6-1, 6-2
4. Krisztina Kapitany (PUR) def. Annette Dohanics (IOWA) 6-4, 0-6, 6-3
5. Andjela Djokovic (PUR) def. Katie Zordani (IOWA) 0-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
6. Claudia Escribens (PUR) vs. Ellen Silver (IOWA) 6-4, 6-7 (Abd.)

Order of Finish: (2, 3, 5, 1, 4)

Doubles:
1. Ruth Seaborne/Morven McCulloch (IOWA) def. Mara Schmidt/T.Bernard-Feigenbaum (PUR) 8-6
2. Krisztina Kapitany/Natalia Davila (PUR) def. Shelby Talcott/Annette Dohanics (IOWA) 8-5
3. Nicole Robinson/Claudia Escribens (PUR) def. Aimee Tarun/Katie Zordani (IOWA) 8-3

Order of Finish: (2, 1, 3)