The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team will have an individual competing for a singles championship on Sunday at the Purdue Fall Invitational. Freshman Philipp Leithold (Esslingen, Germany / Theodor-Huess Gynasium) earned the right to play for hardware by moving to 3-0 in the event with his victory on Saturday.

How It Happened

• Leithold battled back from a 1-6 defeat in Set 1 to beat Ball State’s Eli Herran in the Flight D semifinal. He moves on to Sunday’s championship match, where he’ll take on Jan Vrba of Xavier.
• After reaching the Flight A semifinals with two wins on Friday, senior Brian Pecyna (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / Homeschooled) saw his winning streak come to a close with a 6-1, 6-4 defeat to Sergio Hernandez of Louisville on Saturday.
• In Flight B, senior Gabriel Carvajal (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Broward Virtual School [Florida Atlantic]) rebounded from a second-round setback with a 6-3, 7-6 win in consolation play, beating Tomasz Dudek of Purdue.
• Freshman Oscar Mendoza (Guayaquil, Ecuador / Interamerican Academy) won his first set of a Flight E semifinal, but couldn’t close out the match. He fell to Cardinal Stritch’s Danilo Pejovic 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
• Senior Franklin Brozovich (Fort Gratiot, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) rallied from a set down to beat IUPUI’s Nick Moody 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in a Flight E consolation match.
• Brozovich/Mendoza accounted for Valpo’s doubles win on the day, edging the Xavier combo of Reddy/Zipoli in a Flight C consolation match.

Up Next

Championship Sunday play at the Purdue Fall Invitational will begin at 8 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. ET in West Lafayette.