Purdue Sports Update 1/20

WBB Stalls in Fourth Quarter Against Nebraska

Despite a dominant display over the first 30 minutes, the women’s basketball team came up short in the fourth quarter against Nebraska, falling 71-64 on Wednesday night at Mackey Arena.

The Boilermakers (12-6, 3-5) held a 56-48 lead after three periods of play, but Nebraska (12-7, 4-4) rallied in the fourth quarter to outscore Purdue 23-8 to pick up the road win.

Abbey Ellis tallied her second straight game with 20 or more points. The Australian international went for 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 4-of-7 from behind the arc and grabbed six rebounds.

Caitlyn Harper joined Ellis in double figures with a mark of 8-of-8 at the line to finish with 15 points. Jayla Smith added 11 points and seven rebounds.

Purdue shot 40% for the game and went 9-of-23 (39.1) from distance. The Boilermakers won the rebounding battle 33-31 and turned 11 offensive rebounds into 11 points. Jeanae Terry led the way on the glass with eight boards.

The Boilermakers jumped out to an 11-3 lead early in the first with nine combined points from Ellis and Harper. The Cornhuskers responded with a 16-5 run over the final 6:08 to take a 19-16 lead after the first. Ellis totaled 10 points in the opening 10 minutes.

In the second, Cassidy Hardin connected on a quick 3-pointer to pull the score level. Nebraska regained a four-point lead at 25-21 with 7:03 to play, but the Boilermakers held the visitors off the board for the next five minutes. Despite the dominant defense, including a block by Ellis, and solid rebounding in the frame, Purdue only managed to pull ahead by one at the break 31-30.

Harper scored eight of Purdue’s first 14 points of the third quarter to build a nine-point advantage midway through the frame. The Boilermakers held Nebraska to just two made field goals over the first 6:33 of the third, but the Cornhuskers did not allow the gap to reach double digits.

In the fourth, the ball would not fall for the Boilermakers. Purdue went 3-of-12 from the field and 1-of-6 from behind the arc. Nebraska went 7-of-16 on field goal attempts and hit 7-of-9 free throws. Terry and Smith equally split Purdue’s eight points in the final frame. 

Purdue will close out its two-game homestand Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. tip against Minnesota on B1G+.

Wrestling Loses Road Opener at #25 Illinois

Wrestling fell to No. 25 Illinois in its first road test of the season on Saturday night, losing 31-9 in the State Farm Center.
 
The Boilermakers (4-6, 0-2 B1G) got wins from No. 9 Matt Ramos, No. 3 Kendall Coleman and Hayden Copass, but the matches in between all went in favor of the Illini. Purdue allowed bonus points in six of their seven bout losses.
 
The redshirt-sophomore Ramos got back in the win column to notch his first conference victory of the season in a 3-2 decision over Max Renteria. The Lockport, Ill., native went back to one his favorite moves to get a takedown in the first, executing a duck to get in for two. Renteria kept him from adding anything else as the bout wore on and it ended in only a decision despite Ramos dominating the action.
 
Veteran 157-pounder Coleman remained undefeated in dual competition this season, pushing his streak to nine straight with an 8-2 decision over Anthony Federico. The match was tied 0-0 after two periods thanks to good work on top from Coleman in the second, who then exploded early in the final frame with three points in the first 10 seconds. He would go on to add five more via takedown, two stall points and riding time to get the win.
 
In his return to the lineup off an injury, the redshirt-freshman Copass battled for a gritty 1-0 victory against Matt Wroblewski to give Purdue a win to wrap the dual. A second-period escape from the Boilermaker were the lone points scored between the two. It would end up being enough to give Copass his first career dual match win.
 
Purdue will hit the road once again next weekend, as they travel to face Wisconsin in Madison on Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET and Minnesota in Minneapolis on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Women’s Tennis Starts Season With Perfect Night

Women’s tennis started the 2023 dual season with a perfect season opener over Memphis and Chicago State. The Boilermakers held off the Tigers with a 4-3 victory in the opener, before sweeping the second match against the Cougars, 4-0.

MATCH 1 – Purdue vs. Memphis
The Boilermakers picked up a hard-fought 4-3 win over the Tigers in the opener.

Purdue struck first in doubles to take the opening point of the year. Csilla Fodor and Carmen Gallardo Guevara steamrolled Aran Teixido Garcia and Dolavee Tumthong, 6-2, at No. 2 for the Boilermakers’ first doubles victory. Liz Norman and Tara Katarina Milic put Purdue ahead for the match with a 6-2 win over Camila Soares and Monique Woog at the top of the lineup.

Kennedy Gibbs and Juana Larranaga held a 5-4 lead at No. 3 when play was halted.

Gallardo Guevara gave Purdue a 2-0 lead in singles play with a 6-2, 6-3 romp over Soares. The lead grew to three when freshman Kennedy Gibbs started her career with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Tumthong at No. 5.

Memphis rallied back into the match with straight set victories of its own at No. 3 and 4.

Norman sealed the win for Purdue at No. 1. The Terre Haute, Ind., native outlasted Teixido Garcia 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 for the decisive point.

Match 2 – Purdue (2-0) vs. Chicago State (0-2)
Building off of the momentum of the win over the Tigers, the Boilermakers rolled through the second match 4-0.

Purdue quickly picked up the doubles point in the nightcap. Following a default at No. 3 by Chicago State, it became a race for the two doubles teams to finish first. Kennedy Gibbs and Juana Larranaga put Purdue ahead 1-0 for the match with a 6-2 win at No. 2 over Cali Fuller and Amina Taibi.

Tara Katarina Milic and Liz Norman were not far behind at No. 1, as the pair was one point away from winning their match at No. 1 against Ethel Li and Kristina Pukhaeva when play was halted with a 5-2 lead.

Purdue earned another point after Chicago State defaulted at No. 6 singles. At No. 2 singles, Csilla Fodor blanked Kristina Pukhaeva 6-0, 6-0. Freshman Kennedy Gibbs followed behind at No. 4 with a win of her own 6-1, 6-2 over Ethel Li to seal the win.

The Boilermakers held the lead in three other singles matches when play was halted. Norman held a 6-2, 1-0 advantage over Fuller at No. 1, Milic led Katarina Dukic 6-2, 4-0 at No. 3 and Antonia Pareja was three games shy of her first Purdue dual win with a 6-1, 3-0 lead over Amina Taibi at No. 5.

Men’s Tennis Drops Season Opener to Dayton

The men’s tennis team opened the 2023 spring season with a loss against the Dayton Flyers. The Boilermakers dropped to an early 3-0 deficit that proved to great to overcome.

Daniel Labrador and Tomasz Dudek led the charge in doubles when they jumped out to lead over Dayton’s Connor Bruce and Matt DeMarco and defeated the Flyer’s number-one duo 6-3. Dayton rallied back to win the final two matches taking the doubles point. 

Michal Wozniak provided the Boilers first point of the match after a win straight sets. Purdue persisted in singles play with three matches going to three sets. Milledge Cossu put up a strong fight by rallying from a set down but was edged out 5-7. Freshman Mujtaba Ali-Khan started his career with a thrilling win. After going down a set, Ali-Khan stormed back to win in the second and third sets.
The Boilers stay at home to take on the Cleveland State Vikings this Friday, Jan. 20 at 4 p.m. The match will be held at Schwartz Tennis Center and admission is free.

Track Wins 4 and Earns 4 Top-10 Times in Chicago

Four top-10 times in school history and four event wins highlighted the track & field team’s day at the Wisconsin Midwest Invitational on Saturday in Chicago at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center at Gately Park.

Fifth-year Justin Becker and sophomore Brett Otterbacher each notched victories on Saturday with times that rank in the top six in the Boilermaker record books. Otterbacher ran the second-fastest 600-meter time, while Becker won the 60m final with the No. 6-fastest time.

Junior Deborah Obadofin earned her second consecutive long jump win to begin the season and sophomore Praise Aniamaka added a win in the triple jump. Sophomore Nathan Walker and freshman Zachary Evans both registered top-10 times, in the mile and 60m prelim, respectively.

As the Boilermakers returned to the track after a month-long break for the holidays, they competed against host-Wisconsin, Illinois, UW-Milwaukee and Southern Illinois. Saturday marked the first of two trips to Chicago’s year-old track for Purdue during the indoor season.

Becker and Otterbacher’s wins came in back-to-back men’s events, beginning with Becker in the 60m final. After a personal-best 6.78 in the prelim, the third-fastest overall time, Becker topped it in the final. The winning time of 6.69 vaulted him into the record book at No. 6 in the event as Becker won by 0.02 seconds.

In the 60m prelim, Evans finished in 6.74, the fastest time and tied for No. 10 in school history at the time.

The next men’s event was the 600m, where Otterbacher won in 1:17.52. Just 0.32 seconds shy of the school record set in 2020, Otterbacher’s place at No. 2 all-time comes as he won Saturday’s race by nearly two seconds.

Just before Becker and Otterbacher notched their top-10 wins, Walker ran the mile in 4:07.58 to stamp his name in the record book. It is No. 10 on the charts and the fastest by a Boilermaker in almost three years. Walker placed third overall in Saturday’s race.
 
In the long jump, Obadofin earned her second win in the event in as many meets to open the 2022-23 season. On her second attempt, she jumped 5.60m and went on to win by 0.09m.
 
Later in the afternoon, Aniamaka was victorious in the triple jump, also with a mark earned on his second jump. A 14.23m gave him the win. Aniamaka was the only competitor to jump at least 14.00m, which he did three times.
 
Fifth-year Johnny Vanos got the day going with another strong performance in the weight throw, as he was second with a mark of 21.22m. That was just shy of his personal-best set last month that is No. 4 in the Purdue record books.
 
Additionally, senior Safin Wills was the long jump runner-up (7.36m) and freshmen Bryanna Craig and Jessica Lyons placed second in the high jump (1.74m) and 800m (2:17.45), respectively. Craig’s high jump was a collegiate-best clearance.
 
Personal-best marks also were achieved by Becker (34.01, 300m), Craig (8.80 and 8.70, 60m hurdles and 5.49ml long jump), fifth-year Camille Christopher (7.51, 60m prelims and 40.39, 300m), juniors Naomi Campbell (7.61, 60m prelims), Caroline Jordan (5:06.47, mile), Logan Sandlin (8.89, 60m hurdles), Caleb Williams (4:10.58, mile) and Cierra Williams (7.69, 60m prelims), sophomore Jaelyn Burgos (5:14.79, mile) and freshmen Rebecca Caliendo (14.84m, weight throw) and Eric Young II (6.86m and 6.84, 60m).
 
The Boilermakers are back in action next weekend, when they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the Simmons-Harvey Invitational on January 21. Purdue returns to Michigan for the first time since opening the 2020-21 indoor season at the U-M Indoor Track Building.

Kampen Course to be Co-Named as Kampen-Cosler Course at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex

The Purdue University Board of Trustees has approved the co-naming of the Kampen Course to become the Kampen-Cosler Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.

Approved last month along with several renovations, updates at the complex include naming the upcoming clubhouse facility after world-famous golf course architect and longtime Indiana resident Pete Dye. Recent renovations also include updates to all bunkers on the current Kampen Course.

The improvements to the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex have been made possible as a result of the generosity of Purdue Athletics supporters, including golf alumni Steve Cosler (’77) and his wife, Purdue alumna Lynne Cosler (’77). The new naming will further recognize and honor their support of Purdue Athletics and the John Purdue Club.

“While growing up in West Lafayette, I learned to play golf on Purdue courses,” said Cosler. “The ‘North’ course has special meaning to me, as it was the site of the last competitive round my dad saw me play before his passing in 1973 after a short battle with cancer. Lynne and I love Purdue, and all that it has meant to our family, so we are thrilled to be able to support keeping the Kampen Course as one of the premier college golf courses in the country.”

After graduating from Purdue, Cosler achieved a distinguished career at IBM before embarking on a career in healthcare, including serving as President and CEO of Priority Healthcare (a publicly held company acquired in 2005). Since then, Cosler has been an Operating Partner at Water Street Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm focused on healthcare. Among their civic activities, the Coslers founded Elevate Indianapolis, an organization teaching values, leadership and life-management skills to urban youth.

“The Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex is truly a special place with a rich history,” said Rob Bradley, Director of Golf and Head Men’s Golf Coach. “We have two championship courses that are capable of holding prestigious championships for years to come. We are so grateful for the contributions made by Steve and Lynne Cosler, and honored to include their name on the course. The renovations to the Kampen-Cosler Course will ensure that it remains one of the best and most challenging university golf courses in the country.”

The Cosler family’s generosity will further build upon their legacy and show current golfers at Purdue and beyond that they can use their experience, hard work and determination to make an impactful difference in the lives of others.