The University of Minnesota women's tennis team fell to Purdue 7-0 on Sunday, April 23 on a beautiful afternoon at the Baseline Tennis Center. Three Golden Gopher seniors, Nischela Reddy, Shelby Rohrer and Megan Steiger, competed in the final home match of their collegiate careers and were honored for their contributions to the women's tennis program prior to the singles portion of the match.
The Boilermakers took an early 1-0 lead by winning two of three doubles matches. At No. 3 doubles, Anna Dzeva and Brittany Minna defeated Shelby Rohrer and Megan Steiger 8-1. Purdue then gained the doubles point when Randi Schuler and Stephanie Wooten defeated Danielle Mousseau and Mariana Spilca 8-2.
Minnesota’s only victory came from Nischela Reddy and Ida Malmberg who came from behind to defeat Brooke Beier and Mallory Voelker. Trailing 4-6, Reddy and Malmberg stormed back to tie the match at six apiece and took control from there, winning the final two games in convincing fashion to pull out the 8-6 victory.
Purdue then took all six singles matches from the Gophers to win the match, led by a couple of players ranked in the top 100 in the nation. The Boilermakers' Mallory Voelker, ranked No. 98, began by defeating Minnesota's Danielle Mousseau 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. Two matches later, No. 95 Randi Schuler defeated Reddy 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Purdue also got victories from Anna Dzeva, who defeated the Gophers' Jane Anderson 6-0, 6-4, Brittany Minna, who defeated Steiger 6-0, 6-2, and Stephanie Wooten, who defeated Mariana Spilca 6-1, 6-2.
The most exciting match of the day came on the No. 2 singles court. Minnesota's Ida Malmberg battled Purdue's Brooke Beier through three tough sets but eventually fell two sets to one. Beier took the first set 7-6 after escaping a grueling tiebraker 8-6. Malmberg battled back to win the second set 7-5 but fell in the third set super- tiebreaker 10-3.
The Gophers travel to Illinois next week to compete in the 2006 Big Ten Championships beginning Thursday.
Minnesota vs. #46 Purdue
April 23, 2006
Minneapolis, Minn.
Baseline Tennis Center
Singles
1. #95 Randi Schuler (PUR) def. Nischela Reddy (MN), 6-4, 6- 1
2. Brooke Beier (PUR) def. Ida Malmberg (MN), 7-6 (8-6), 5- 7, 1-0 (10-3)
3. #98 Mallory Voelker (PUR) def. Danielle Mousseau (MN), 6-1, 6- 0
4. Stephanie Wooten (PUR) def. Mariana Spilca (MN), 6-1, 6- 2
5. Anna Dzeva (PUR) def. Jane Anderson (MN), 6-0, 6-4
6. Brittany Minna (PUR) def. Megan Steiger (MN), 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 5, 1, 6, 4, 2
Doubles
1. Malmberg/Reddy (MN) def. Beier/Voelker (PUR), 8-6
2. Schuler/Wooten (PUR) def. Mousseau/Spilca (MN), 8-2
3. Dzeva/Minna (PUR) def. Rohrer/Steiger (MN), 8-1
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
