The women's tennis team fell 4-0 to Miami in the round of 32.
Purdue University Team Page
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The No. 30 Boilermakers had their dual season come to a close on Saturday. The Boilermakers fell to the No. 6 Miami Hurricanes, 4-0.
Purdue (18-6) came up just short in doubles despite playing tough at the top two spots. Miami (22-5) picked up a win at No. 3 as Stephanie Wagner and Brittany Dubins defeated Gisella Pere and Claudia Escribens, 8-3. The doubles match was Escribens' first as a Boilermaker. The Hurricanes clinched the point with an 8-5 win at No. 1. Monique Albuquerque and Clementina Riobueno topped Mara Schmidt and Krisztina Kapitany, the No. 27 duo in the nation, 8-5. Lynda Xepoleas and Daniela Vidal led 5-3 at No. 2 when the match was abandoned.
The Hurricanes and Boilermakers were fairly even in singles until a weather delay halted the action for nearly 45 minutes. Schmidt trailed 4-2 at one, Xepoleas led 4-2 at two, Vidal was up 3-2 at three, Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum had a 5-2 lead at four, Kapitany was down 4-3 at five and Pere trailed 5-2 at six. From there, it was all Miami.
Albuquerque finished first for the Hurricanes as she won 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5 over Kapitany. Melissa Bolivar brought them within a point a victory with a win at No. 6. She defeated Pere, 6-2, 6-1. Riobueno clinched the win with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 4 over Bernard-Feigenbaum.
Schmidt was all-square with the No. 60 singles player in the country, Wagner, at No. 1 when the match was abandoned. She dropped the first set, 3-6, before winning the second set, 6-3. Xepoleas led the No. 81 singles player in the country, Kelsey Laurente, 6-3, 4-4, at No. 2 and Vidal led 2-1 in the second set at No. 3 after dropping the first set to the No. 105 player nationally, Lina Lileikite.
The Boilermakers finish the season with 18 wins which ties the most in program history. The team's finish in the round of 32 ties the farthest the team has ever advanced in the tournament. It is only the second time in program history that the Boilermakers have won a match in the NCAA Tournament and is the first time that they have made it to the tournament in back-to-back seasons. The team earned the highest ranking in program history earlier this season as it was as high as No. 14. Purdue also picked up its highest ranked road victory during the season as it won at then-No. 19 Notre Dame.
Pere leaves Purdue as the winningest team dual match player in program history. Pere was a part of 66 team dual match wins including South Carolina on Friday when she fought off five dual points en route to a three set win.
Kapitany and Schmidt's seasons aren't over yet. They earned a berth to the NCAA Doubles Championships which begin on May 22 in Champaign, Ill.
