Oct. 23, 2003
EAST LANSING, MI – Iowa men’s tennis player Chaitu Malempati advanced to the second round of the ITA Omni Orrington Regional qualifying draw Thursday afternoon. The sophomore defeated Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Ben Davis in straight sets (6-4, 6-2). Malempati will next face fourth-seeded Michael Heule of Ball State who advanced after defeating Illinois-Chicago’s Karol Zarucki (6-1, 7-5).
In other action, freshman Jonny Hoak was eliminated from singles competition after a 6-0, 7-5 loss to Notre Dame’s Pat Buchanan. Freshman Walter Valarezo was also eliminated after a 7-6, 6-2 loss to Toledo’s Tony Tran. Both will return to action Saturday to compete in doubles competition.
The Malempati-Heule match is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. (CT) tomorrow. The second and third rounds of qualifying competition will conclude tomorrow with eight finalists advancing to main draw singles competition beginning Saturday. Iowa sophomore Parker Ross will begin competition in the main draw.
RESULTS
Qualifying Singles – First Round
Chaitu Malempati (I) def. Ben Davis (UWGB), 6-4, 6-2
Pat Buchanan (ND) def. Jonny Hoak (I), 6-0, 7-5
Tony Tran (UT) def. Walter Valarezo (I), 7-6(4), 6-2