Boilers look for next conference
victory
Team to host Spartans, Wolverines
in weekend Big Ten tennis matches
 By
Doug Healey
Staff Writer
The Purdue women's tennis team will try to continue
to build confidence after its first conference victory over Penn State.
The Boilers are coming off a 5-2 loss at Ohio State
on Sunday, but they beat Penn State 4-3 on Saturday.
"It was a great win for us," said assistant coach
Chris Karges-Iandolo. "They are fourth in the conference and in the
top 40."
Karges-Iandolo said it was a big shift in confidence
for the Boilers to get their first conference win.
"In every position, we have a solid shot to win
every match," said Karges-Iandolo. "It helps with confidence and having
an energetic attitude."
At 1 p.m. on Saturday, the Boilers (4-16, 1-7 Big
Ten) play host to Michigan State (6-13, 0-8) at the Purdue Varsity Tennis
Courts.
Karges-Iandolo said the Boilers still need to take
the Spartans seriously.
"They have not won a conference match, but we need
play our best tennis and take care of business," she said.
At 11 a.m. on Sunday, the Boilers host Michigan
(7-10, 2-6) at the Purdue Varsity Tennis Courts. It's Senior Day for
Purdue seniors Erika Quebe and Lisa Walgenbach.
The Wolverines have lost three straight Big Ten
matches, 4-3 to Ohio State, 5-2 to Penn State and 5-2 to Iowa.
The Boilers have had recent success against Michigan.
"We've beaten up on them the last four years,"
said Karges-Iandolo. "We expect them to look for revenge. They're very
competitive and have a lot of talent, but we've beaten them consistently."
Doubles will be a key.
"We need to jump on them and get the doubles point,"
said Karges-Iandolo. "We need to play with a lot of energy and continue
to stay aggressive and play to win. It fires us up when we get that
point.
"We'll be up for both these teams and we can use
this as a springboard to the (Big Ten) tournament."
Although the conference schedule has been rough
for the Boilers, Karges-Iandolo said the attitude of the team has remained
positive and the girls are improving.
"We keep in mind we are a young team and we play
a great schedule," she said. "We've been putting ourselves in position
to win. There's never been any quit in this team and we're proud of
that."
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