Men's Tennis Falls to Purdue

Feb. 17, 2007

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - In a tight match against the Purdue Boilermakers, the Marquette men's tennis team was unable to closeout some final key match-ups, falling 5-2 at the Schwartz Tennis Center. With the loss Marquette drops to 3-4.

The Golden Eagles came out hot, earning victories at one and three doubles.

"We played well at doubles today," head coach Steve Rodecap said. "Shao and Nick played a good match at three and Brett and Mark controlled the match at one. Pete and Trent weren't able to put it together at two."

Marquette used their momentum early in singles but Purdue's Branko Kuzmanovic got a quick victory over Stephen Shao at no. 2, 6-1, 6-2. At the six spot, P.J. Rose downed Greg Sirotek, 6-2, 6-0.

Brett Binkley tied the score at two a piece when he defeated Scott Warner, 6-4, 6-4.

"In singles the guys got off to a pretty good start," Rodecap said. "Purdue went up 2-1 pretty quickly but Brett won to tie it up 2-2. The last three matches all went to three sets."

The meet was decided when Paul Foley earned a victory over Niko Boulieris at five and Eric Hodgman took down Mark Rutherford at three.

"I feel like we are starting to consistently compete better at a higher level," said Rodecap. "It's just a matter of time before we find ways to win tight matches. It was a long, high level match and I'm proud of that. It came down to experience. We had two freshmen and a sophomore out there playing against a fifth year senior, a senior and a freshman. Our guys are gaining experience each day and it's definitely going to help us in the future."

The Golden Eagles return home next weekend to take on Valparaiso on Saturday, February 24 at the Helfaer Tennis Stadium.

-COMPLETE RESULTS-

Singles

No. 1- Paul Rose (PU) def. Trent Hagan (MU) 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
No. 2- Branko Kuzmanovic (PU) def. Stephen Shao (MU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 3- Eric Hodgman (PU) def. Mark Rutherford (MU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
No. 4- Brett Binkley (MU) def. Scott Warner (PU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5- Paul Foley (PU) def. Niko Boulieris (MU) 6-4, 7-6, 6-3
No. 5- P.J. Rose (PU) def. Greg Sirotek (MU) 6-2, 6-0

Doubles

No. 1- Binkley/Rutherford (MU) def. Paul Rose/Warner (PU) 8-6
No. 2- Kuzmanovic/Foley (PU) def. Hagan/Van Lieshout (MU) 8-3
No. 3- Shao/Boulieris (MU) def. Fuenmayor/Hodgman (PU) 8-5