SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Drake University men's tennis team won the consolation championship at the San Diego Spring Break Tournament on Saturday by beating Harvard, 4-2, at the Aztec Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif.
For the third-time this week, the Bulldogs won the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead.
Calum MacGeoch and
Ben Stride slipped past Chris Morrow and Logan Weber with a 7-6(6) tiebreaker victory at No. 3 doubles.
Vinny Gillespie and
Tom Hands secured the doubles point with a tiebreaker win of their own at No. 2 doubles.
In singles, Gillespie cruised past Kenny Tao at No. 1, winning 6-4, 6-1 to put the Bulldogs ahead 2-0. Hands then put the Bulldogs a point away with a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over Brian Yeung at No. 3.
The Crimson managed to cut the deficit to one team point, 3-2, with wins at No. 2 and No.5, respectively.
Junior
Bayo Philips secured the match clinching point by winning a thrilling three-set match, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5), over Morrow at No. 6.
The win over Harvard marked Drake head coach
Davidson Kozlowski's 100th career victory. In his fifth season at the helm of the Bulldogs, Kozlowski has gone 100-36 and led Drake to its only two NCAA Tournament wins in 2013 and 2015.
The Bulldogs return to the Roger Knapp Tennis Center on Wednesday, March 22 when they host Nebraska at 6 p.m.
Drake 4, Harvard 2
Aztec Tennis Center; San Diego, Calif.
Doubles
1. Yeung-Tao (Harvard) def. Philips-Thorold (Drake), 6-4
2. Gillespie-Hands (Drake) def. Peters-Thirovia (Harvard), 7-6(2)
3. MacGeoch-Wood (Drake) def. Morrow-Weber (Harvard), 7-6(6)
Drake wins doubles point.
Singles
1.
Vinny Gillespie (Drake) def. Kenny Tao (Harvard), 6-4, 6-1
2. Jean Thirovia (Harvard) def.
Calum MacGeoch (Drake), 7-6(5), 7-5
3.
Tom Hands (Drake) def. Brian Yeung (Harvard), 7-6(4), 6-2
4. Andy Zhou (Havard) vs.
Barny Thorold (Drake), 4-6, 7-6(5), 3-2 Unfinished
5. Grant Solomon (Harvard) def.
Ben Wood (Drake), 6-7(13), 6-3, 6-4
6.
Bayo Philips (Drake) def. Christopher Morrow (Harvard), 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5)
Order of Finish
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
Singles: 1, 3, 2, 5, 6
