Oct. 23, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue men's tennis player Paul Rose won his first two matches Saturday at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. The junior will play in the round of 16 on Sunday.
Rose, the 56th-ranked player in the nation and the No. 7 seed in the tournament, came from behind to beat Jeremy Clark of Louisville 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the opening round of the main draw. He followed that victory with a 6-4, 6-2 decision against Irackli Akhvlediani of Notre Dame.
Rose will face 11th-seeded Joey Atas of Ohio State in the third round.
Purdue head coach Tim Madden said Rose is improving match-by-match.
"Paul is starting to play with a lot of confidence," Madden said. "He's playing at a higher level and he is competing very well."
Also competing for Purdue on Saturday were seniors Sounak Chatterjee and David Robinson, who both lost in the first round. Chatterjee fell 6-0, 6-1 to sixth-seeded Chris Martin of Illinois, while Robinson suffered a 6-2, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Willy Gali of Northern Illinois.
Complete results from the ITA Midwest Regional Championships can be found on mgoblue.com.
- P -