SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Purdue's freshmen showed out in their collegiate debuts as the Boilers picked up 14 wins on day one of the Notre Dame Invitational.
With four players making their collegiate debut, one would never have guessed their inexperience as the rookies went a combined 7-1 across the first two rounds of singles action. Juan David Velasquez, Soham Purohit and Henrik Villanger all went undefeated with Velasquez blowing by both of his opponents in straight sets.
Fellow newcomer Stefan Simeunovic had another impressive outing as he swept both his matches and ended his day by tying his win total from his Boilermaker debut at the Big Ten/SEC Challenge. The freshman from Canada has already shown himself to be a potential weapon in Purdue's arsenal come springtime, as he downed two future conference opponents in Greyson Casey (Northwestern) and Luc Boulier (Indiana). He dominated the first day of play, winning three of his four sets played by three or more games.
Head coach Geoff Young's two transfer students also made an impact with Marino Jakic and Aleksa Krivokapic starting with a combined 3-1 record. Jakic starts his Purdue career with a split record against two players from Notre Dame while Krivokapic flipped the script from his one-win weekend in Tuscaloosa. The 2022 Big East Freshman of the Year bounced back from dropping two ranked losses at Alabama to picking up a pair of wins, bringing his fall total to three.
Saturday's action will begin with doubles play where the Boilermakers will get a chance to test out a flurry of new pairs. Matches will commence at 10 a.m. with the third round of singles to follow.
SINGLES ROUND 1
Marino Jakic (PUR) def. Brian Bisley (ND) - 7-5, 3-6, 10-8
Stefan Simeunovic (PUR) def. Greyson Casey (NU) - 6-2, 6-3
Aleksa Krivokapic (PUR) def. Ben George (WMU) - 4-6, 6-1, 10-3
Juan David Velasquez (PUR) def. Callum Rendle (VAN) - 6-1, 7-5
Daniel Labrador (PUR) def. Noah Becker (ND) - 6-0, 7-5
Xander Ekstrand (PUR) def. Kyran Magimay (ND) - 7-5, 7-6(2)
Soham Purohit (PUR) def. Matteo Iaquinto (DEP) - 6-2, 5-7, 10-8
Nicholas Herdoiza (NU) def. Mujtaba Ali-Khan (PUR) - 6-4, 6-4
Henrik Villanger (PUR) def. Owen Megargee (NU) - 6-2, 1-6, 10-2
SINGLES ROUND 2
Nil Giraldez (ND) def. Marino Jakic (PUR) - 3-6, 6-3, 10-3
Aleksa Krivokapic (PUR) def. Brian Bisley (ND) - 6-4, 6-2
Presley Thieneman (NU) def. Daniel Labrador (PUR) - 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-7
Stefan Simeunovic (PUR) def. Luc Boulier (IU) - 7-5, 6-3
Juan David Velasquez (PUR) def. Matt Clegg (DRA) - 7-5, 6-4
Tyler Bowers (ILL) def. Xander Ekstrand (PUR) - 7-5, 6-4
Soham Purohit (PUR) def. Jean-Marc Malkowski (ND) - 1-6, 6-3, 10-5
Henrik Villanger (PUR) def. Dimitri Moriarty (WMU) - 6-3, 6-2
Mujtaba Ali-Khan (PUR) def. Drew Evans (WMU) - 6-1, 7-5
