TOLEDO, Ohio --- The Purdue men's tennis team wrapped up play in the Rocket Invitational Sunday afternoon at both the UT Varsity Facility and Shadow Valley Tennis & Fitness Center. Considered a "flex" hidden dual tournament, Purdue's four players combined with players from Case Western Reserve and Western Michigan to compete together throughout the competition. The four Boilermakers combined for a total of seven victories on the weekend.
The tournament kicked off on Saturday with Purdue scheduled to compete in both singles and doubles play. In singles, Lucas Dages came up big for the Boilermakers by going 2-0 on the day with straight-set victories over both Rodrigo Tico of Saint Francis, 7-6 (2), 6-0 and David Zakhodin of Case Western, 6-0, 6-1. Renan Hanayama was also able to come away with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Cleveland State's William Malm.
In doubles, Hanayama and Arthur Dobradin defeated Western Michigan's Andrew Cahn and Stephen Payne in the tiebreaker 10-7, after splitting the first two sets, 6-4 and 3-6, respectively.
Sunday's action was highlighted by Purdue's progress in singles competition. Dages continued his streak of success with yet another straight-set victory over Wright State's Jose Pestana, 6-1, 6-2. Dobradin caught fire with two wins of his own in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Grant Esposito of Wright State as well as hard-fought triumph over Youngstown State's Bassem El Mekawi. 2-6, 6-3, 10-6. The pair accounted for five of the seven victories for Purdue this weekend.
The Boilermakers return to action this week in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships. The five-day tournament will kick off on Thursday and will come to an end on Monday, Oct. 19.