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The Maryland women’s tennis team finished its season with two thrilling matches this weekend as they defeated Indiana on Friday and lost to Purdue on Sunday, finishing with a final record of 10-12 (4-7 Big Ten).
Friday afternoon’s matchup against the Hoosiers proved to be the longest and most entertaining match of Maryland’s season, as the two teams went back-and-forth in a near-four-hour thriller.
The Terps have become accustomed to securing the doubles point this season, but Friday was one of the rare times that Maryland was unsuccessful. A loss from the duo of Kate Yemelyanenka and Saya Usui and a victory from the duo of Ekaterina Tour and Arnelle Sullivan left the two teams deadlocked at one apiece. Ultimately, the duo of Eva Alexandrova and Millie Stretton lost their closely contested match 7-5 to give the Hoosiers the doubles point.
In the singles portion, Alexandrova and Zoe Kulkarni lost their matches while Sullivan, Stretton and Tour won their matches, leaving the two teams tied at three. Fortunately for the Terps, Yemelyanenka outlast Indiana’s Michelle McKamey 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, to take the win for Maryland.
The Terps were back on the court Sunday afternoon versus the Boilermakers in their final match of the season. Maryland secured the doubles point with relative ease as Stretton and Alexandrova won their match, 6-3, while Arnelle Sullivan and Ekaterina Tour won their match 6-1.
In the singles portion, Anastasiia Gevel, Alexandrova and Sullivan lost their matches but Tour and Stretton both won their matches, which tied the two teams up at 3-3. A thrilling third set on Court 6 saw Saya Usui lose in a tiebreaker as Purdue’s Zala Dovnik won 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) to secure victory for the Boilermakers.
After the game, the Terps honored their lone senior, Ekaterina Tour, for her contributions to the team. Tour spent her entire career as one of Maryland’s most vital pieces, and after winning 16 singles matches last season, she leads the Terps again with 14 so far this spring.
Maryland will be the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten tournament, and its postseason run will start at 11:30 a.m. ET Thursday against Minnesota in Minneapolis.