Feb. 15, 2013
#24 Purdue 4, #19 Notre Dame 3
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In a back-and-forth contest that lasted just over four and a half hours, the No. 19 University of Notre Dame women’s tennis lost a heartbreaker to in-state rival and No. 24 Purdue, 4-3, Friday evening inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
The Boilermakers (3-1) earned the win by taking the doubles point and then claiming victories at four, five and six, including the clincher at four that went three sets and saw Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum rally to knock off Chrissie McGaffigan, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4.
The Irish (5-2) close out the weekend Sunday when they head to Chicago to meet No. 10 Northwestern in a 3 p.m. (ET) match. Fans can follow along via the live stats link provided on UND.com.
After dropping the doubles point, Notre Dame made a comeback in singles.
Jennifer Kellner got things rolling for the Irish in the No. 2 singles court with a two-set triumph to beat Mara Schmidt, 6-2, 6-1. Kellner claimed the first Notre Dame point of the match (1-1) and improved her dual record to 5-2.
Purdue answered right back at the No. 5 court as Imogen Golder swept her singles match, defeating Molly O’Koniewski, 6-2, 6-2.
Freshman Quinn Gleason tied up the team competition with her two-set win over Daniela Vidal at the No. 3 court. After taking the first set, Gleason went into a tiebreak where she went on to capture the victory, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).
Purdue’s Gisella Pere put her team back in the lead of the competition with her three-set defeat of Julie Sabacinski, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
After dropping the first set at the No. 1 court, junior Britney Sanders took the next two sets and defeated Lynda Xepoleas, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, to knot the match between the two teams at three apiece as all eyes turned to action at No. 4.
At the No. 4 court the outcome of the team completion hinged on the performances of McGaffigan and Bernard-Feigenbaum. Purdue’s Bernard-Feigenbaum jumped out to a nice start, taking the first set 6-2. From that point on there would be no more easy games. McGaffigan took the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5), to force a third and deciding set. McGaffigan jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in set three, but Bernard-Feigenbaum wouldn’t be denied as she reeled off six of the next seven games to claim the victory, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4.
The match opened with Purdue taking the doubles point.
The Boilermakers struck first in the doubles portion of the match as the No. 3 pairing of Imogen Golder and Gisella Pere posted an 8-6 victory over Notre Dame’s Julie Sabacinski and Julie Vrabel. With the victory, Golder and Pere improve their dual record to 2-0, while Sabacinski and Vrabel fall to 0-1 in their first match together.
At the No. 2 court, Quinn Gleason and Britany Sanders rallied back from a 6-1 deficit to get the score at 6-5. However, their effort fell short as Purdue’s Daniela Vidal and Lynda Xepoleas shut down the surging Irish and claimed the match and the doubles point with an 8-5 win.
After the doubles point was decided a tight match at the No. 1 court moved into a tiebreaker with the score knotted at eight. Following several dynamic rallies, the match was eventually decided in favor of Notre Dame, 14-12, with Kellner and McGaffigan improving their dual season record to 7-3.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Kellner/McGaffigan (ND) d. Kapitany/Schmidt (Purdue), 9-8 (14-12)
2. Vidal/Xepoleas (Purdue) d. Gleason/Sanders (ND), 8-5
3. Golder/Pere (Purdue) d. Sabacinski/Vrabel (ND), 8-6
Order of Finish 3,2,1
Singles
1. Britney Sanders (ND) d. Lynda Xepoleas (Purdue), 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Jennifer Kellner (ND) d. Mara Schmidt (Purdue), 6-2, 6-1
3. Quinn Gleason (ND) d. Daniel Vidal (Purdue), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (Purdue) d. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND), 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
5. Imogen Golder (Purdue) d. Molly O’Koniewski (ND), 6-2, 6-2
6. Gisella Pere (Purdue) d. Julie Sabacinski (ND), 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 3, 6, 1, 4
–ND–