DES MOINES, Iowa – No. 35 Drake University men's tennis team opened the 2016 spring season with a strong 5-2 victory over No. 70 Utah State on Saturday afternoon at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

Drake took a 1-0 lead after sweeping the doubles point. Vinny Gillespie and Bayo Philips made quick work of Andrew Nakajima and Luis Lopez at No. 1 with a 6-2 victory. Ben Clark and Ben Stride secured the doubles point for Drake by winning a tie-breaker 7-5 at No. 3. Seconds later, Ben Lott and Calum MacGeoch completed the sweep, winning 6-4 at No. 2.

"The way these boys came out in doubles and the energy they brought and the level of play they had from first serve to clinching the doubles point was great," said head coach Davidson Kozlowski.

Philips took the momentum from doubles right into singles play as he cruised past Jonas Maier, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 2.

"Coming in as a freshman, we made some adjustments to Bayo's game and again this August when he returned to campus we further made adjustments. Bayo believed in the process and stayed with the process and a result like today really should give him confidence in what he was doing is paying off," said Kozlowski.

MacGeoch gave Drake a 3-0 lead, defeating Jack Swindells in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4, but Utah State made it 3-1 with a win at No. 5.

Clark came back to force at second-set tiebreaker and won the tie-breaker 7-5 to secure the decisive team point, 6-4, 7-6, at No. 6.

Lott recorded the Bulldogs final point with a three-set victory at No. 1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday, Jan. 23 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C. against N.C. State.

#35 Drake 5, #70 Utah State 2
Jan. 16, 2016 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center) 

Singles competition

1. Lott, Ben (DU) def. Jaime Barajas (USU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4

2. Philips, Bayo (DU) def. Jonas Maier (USU) 6-3, 6-1

3. Jack Swindells (USU) def. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1

4. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Daniel Echeverry (USU) 6-3, 6-4

5. Samuel Serrano (USU) def. Stride, Ben (DU) 6-4, 6-4

6. Clark, Ben (DU) def. Romai Ugarte (USU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)

 

Doubles competition

1. Gillespie, Vinny/Philips, Bayo (DU) def. Andrew Nakajima/Luis Lopez (USU) 6-2

2. Lott, Ben/MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Daniel Echeverry/Jaime Barajas (USU) 6-4

3. Clark, Ben/Stride, Ben (DU) def. Jack Swindells/Jonas Maier (USU) 7-6 (7-5)

 

Match Notes

Utah State 0-1; National ranking #70

Drake 1-0; National ranking #35

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,4,5,6,3,1)