DES MOINES, Iowa – The 44^th-ranked Drake men's tennis team came back from an early deficit to pull off the upset over No. 26 Oregon, 4-3, on Monday at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

After having a 10 day break from competition, the Bulldogs came out slow and the Ducks took advantage of the sluggish start and won the doubles point.

Drake got back into a rhythm in singles as, sophomore Ben Stride cruised past Ethan Young-Smith, winning 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 6 spot to tie the match up at one.
 
The Ducks regained the lead with a victory on court three. Senior Ben Lott earned a big break before holding his serve to defeat No. 96 Daan Maasland, 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 1 spot, and tied the match up at two.

"What a great effort from Ben (Lott) today, picking up a nationally ranked win. He is a guy that the team looks too and when he is winning and playing well the guys know we are in good shape," Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski said.

Oregon took the lead for the final time of the day by earning a win on court five, but sophomore Calum MacGeoch tied the match up at three with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Jayson Amos at No. 4.

The decisive match point came down to court two between a pair of freshmen, DU's Vinny Gillespie and UO's Thomas Laurent. Laurent managed to take the first set 7-5, but Gillespie bounced back and dominated the second set, winning 6-1. In the third set, Gillespie earned a break early but Laurent broke back to take a 5-4 lead. Gillespie came right back and broke Laurent's serve and then served out for the match, winning 7-5 and clinched the match for the Bulldogs.

Drake heads to the Lone Star State on Saturday and will square off against No. 40 Rice and No. 9 Texas Tech in Houston. The Bulldogs wrap up their weekend on Sunday against No. 74 William & Mary at noon.

#44 Drake 4, #26 Oregon 3
Mar 22, 2016 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center) 

Singles competition

1. Lott, Ben (DU) def. #94 Maasland, Daan (UO) 6-4, 6-4

2. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) def. Laurent, Thomas (UO) 5-7, 6-1, 7-5

3. Stevens, Simon (UO) def. Philips, Bayo (DU) 6-4, 6-3

4. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Amos, Jayson (UO) 6-3, 7-5

5. Clissold, Cormac (UO) def. Wood, Ben (DU) 7-6, 6-1

6. Stride, Ben (DU) def. Young-Smith, Ethan (UO) 6-2, 6-1

 

Doubles competition

1. Lott, Ben/Wood, Ben (DU) vs. #20 Amos, Jayson/Soemarno, Armando (UO) 2-5, unfinished

2. Maasland, Daan/Stevens, Simon (UO) def. Gillespie, Vinny/MacGeoch, Calum (DU) 6-2

3. Clissold, Cormac/Laurent, Thomas (UO) def. Philips, Bayo/Stride, Ben (DU) 6-2

 

Match Notes

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