Randy Rocchio and Nick Zieziula of the UB men's tennis team took the 2002 Milwaukee Tennis Classic by storm, advancing to the doubles tournament quarterfinal before bowing out to the number-one-seeded team of Travis Parott and Peter Malacek from the University of Portland 8-4.
"In the history of University at Buffalo tennis, this is the highest level of competition men from our team have ever played in," stated UB Head Coach Russ Crispell in a press release. "They have succeeded beyond my expectations."
Parott was ranked number one in the country in doubles last season before transferring to Portland. His current doubles ranking is 15th in the nation.
"Our guys were playing against the best young players in the world. Competing at this level, there were 15 volley exchanges just to win a point. It was intense," said Crispell.
The Milwaukee Tennis Classic is the largest and longest-running tennis tournament featuring collegiate players in the United States.
Along the road of success the freshman duo took out teams from Old Dominion and West Virginia in fairly convincing fashion. Their showing has earned them a return invitation for next year to compete both in singles and doubles.
"We will be using the victory as a stepping stone into our spring season," added Crispell.
The tennis team returns to action Feb. 9-10 when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y. for the Cornell Invitational.
