March 6, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Top-ranked Northwestern went on the road Saturday to face a confident Purdue squad that entered the match with a pristine 9-0 record. But the Wildcats were able to sweep doubles play and win four singles matches to quell the Boilermakers' thoughts of picking up a marquee win as NU posted a 5-2 victory.
Northwestern improves to 11-1 on the year and 2-0 in the Big Ten while Purdue moves to 9-1 overall and 1-1 in league play.
NU reverted to the same doubles lineup it displayed in its most recent victory over Georgia Tech, with sophomore Stacey Lee coupling with senior Lauren Lui for an 8-2 win at No. 3 over Imogen Golder and Bhavani Tirumurti. Linda Abu Mushrefova and Maria Mosolova clinched Northwestern's doubles point by winning their third consecutive match, this time an 8-1 decision over Anna Dushkina and Remi Martin.
On the singles side of the dual, the 13th-ranked Mosolova picked up NU's first singles win by dominating Purdue's Michelle Sammons, 6-1, 6-0. Sammons came into the match with an 8-4 singles record but was no match Northwestern's two-time All-American.
Imogen Golder gave Purdue a point when she knocked off NU's Elena Chernyakova at No. 5 singles, 6-3, 6-1. But successive straight-set victories by Kate Turvy at No. 4 and Stacey Lee at No. 6 clinched the dual for NU. Turvy downed Dushkina, 6-1, 6-1, while Lee bested Gisella Pere, 6-3, 6-4, to move to 9-0 in dual singles matches this spring.
The Wildcats and Boilermakers split a pair of three-setters at No. 2 and 3 singles. Lui dropped a 7-5 first set but found her stride over the next two, overcoming Tirumuti 6-2, 6-2 to claim her 11th consecutive singles win.
Northwestern now travels south through the Hoosier State to face Indiana in Bloomington at 11 a.m. CT.
No. 1 Northwestern 5, Purdue 2
Singles
1: #13 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. Michelle Sammons (PU), 6-1, 6-0
2: Jennifer Rabot (PU) def. #31 Samantha Murray (NU), 4-6, 7-6, 7-5
3: Lauren Lui (NU) def. Bhavani Tirumurti (PU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
4: Kate Turvy (NU) def. Anna Dushkina (PU), 6-1, 6-1
5: Imogen Golder (PU) def. Elena Chernyakova (NU), 6-3, 6-1
6: Stacey Lee (NU) def. Gisella Pere (PU), 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
1: Chernyakova/Murray (NU) def. Sammons/Rabot (PU), 8-7
2: Abu Mushrefova/Mosolova (NU) def. Dushkina/Martin (PU), 8-1
3: Lee/Lui (NU) def. Golder/Tirumurti (PU), 8-2
Order of Finish
Singles: (1, 5, 4, 6*, 3, 2)
Doubles: (3, 2*, 1)