MILWAUKEE, WI - Freshman duo Nick Zieziula (Hamburg, NY/ St. Francis) and Randy Rocchio (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville East) of the University at Buffalo men's tennis team were defeated in the doubles quarterfinals of the prestigious 2002 Milwaukee Tennis Classic on Saturday. Zieziula and Rocchio, competing unattached, defeated teams from Old Dominion and West Virginia before losing to the number one seeded team of Travis Parrott and Peter Malacek from the University of Portland, 8-4.

Randy Rocchio

"In the history of University at Buffalo tennis, this is the highest level of competition men from our team have ever played in," said head coach Russ Crispell. "They have succeeded beyond my expectations."

The Milwaukee Tennis Classic is the largest and longest-running tennis tournament featuring collegiate tennis players in the United States. Zieziula and Rocchio were invited back for competition at next year's Milwaukee Tennis Classic to compete in both doubles and singles competition.

"We will be using this victory as a stepping stone into our spring season," said Crispell.

Nick Zieziula

Both Zieziula and Rocchio finished the fall season with a 7-2 individual record while the team completed the fall season with a 3-0 record. Buffalo will return to action on February 9 -10 at the Cornell Duals Invitational.