Oct. 24, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue freshman tennis player Alyssa Rodriguez earned a berth in the main draw of the ITA Midwest Championships with a third straight victory Friday in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Rodriguez, who began the tournament with two wins in the qualifying round Thursday, beat Western Michigan's Carrie Jeanmarie 6-1, 6-2 to claim one of eight spots for qualifiers in the main draw. Sixty-four players began in the qualifying draw.
Sophomore Brittany Reitz fell short of her attempt to enter the main draw, as she dropped a 6-2, 6-2 decision to top-seeded Christian Thompson of Notre Dame on Friday. Reitz won her first two singles matches in qualifying Thursday.
Two Purdue doubles teams got under way at the regional tournament Friday. Rodriguez and junior Lara Burgarello won their first-round match against Northern Illinois' Drake and Tyioran by an 8-3 score, but lost 8-4 in the second round to Notre Dame's Connelly and Stastny. Senior Gretchen Haynor and freshman Hala Sufi lost their first-round match to third-seeded Goulet and McGaffigan of Illinois by an 8-4 count.
Rodriguez, Haynor, Sufi, and juniors Amy Walgenbach and Shawna Zuccarini will be five of the 64 players competing in the singles main draw, which begins Saturday. The singles and doubles champions from the eight regional tournaments from across the country will gain berths to the ITA National Indoor Championships, which will be held in Ann Arbor, Mich., from Nov. 6 to 8.
Complete results from the ITA Midwest Championships can be found at www.wmubroncos.com.
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