DES MOINES, IOWA ? In a battle of a pair of Missouri Valley Conference undefeated squads; it was the 51st-ranked Drake men's tennis team registering a decisive 7-0 victory over Illinois State on Saturday (April 21) at the Drake Tennis Center. The win secured the top seed at the upcoming MVC Championships (April 27-29) for the Bulldogs as well as no worse than a share of the league's regular season crown. A home victory over Bradley on Sunday (April 22) will give Drake the outright MVC title, its fourth in school history.

The Bulldogs were impressive in nearly every facet of their game en route to pushing their winning streak to 19 consecutive matches overall and 33 straight at home. Drake now stands at 20-2 overall, including 5-0 in the MVC. The loss drops the Redbirds to 12-7 on the campaign, while handing Illinois State its first league setback (5-1).

“It was a dominating performance by the guys today,” Drake head coach Chase Hodges said. “You have to credit the bottom of our line-up as our depth proved to be the ultimate difference in the match. With the win, we captured the top seed at the MVC Championships and that was our goal before the season began.”

Doubles proved to be a battle as the point came down to the outcome of the match at the No. 3 position. An 8-6 victory by freshmen Bokang Setshogo (Gaborone, Botswana) and Guilherme Marsiglia (Porto Alegre, Brazil) over Oscar Beich and Michael Hobson proved to be the catalyst for what was to come from the Bulldogs in singles competition.

Setshogo extended the lead to 2-0 when he completed a 6-0, 6-1 decision versus Xavier Riart-Ferrer at No. 5 singles.

The margin grew to 3-0 after junior Dalibor Pavic (Adelaide, Australia) posted his 20th victory of the dual campaign with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph against the current MVC Co-Player of the Week Luke Marinkovic at the third singles slot.

Sophomore Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand) sealed the win to the victory column with a 6-4, 6-2 decision versus Beich at the No. 6 position.

Marsiglia added a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 three-set victory against Daniel Tobar at the fourth singles position.

Attention then shifted to the top two courts at the Drake Tennis Center where the Bulldogs' top two singles players in senior Sergi Vila (Barcelona, Spain) and sophomore Maor Zirkin (KIbutz Hazor, Israel) culminated the match with a pair of victories.

Vila captured a 6-1, 7-6 (3) decision over Alfredo Lagarda at No. 2 singles, before Zirkin, the current MVC Co-Player of the Week, persevered to register a 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 victory at the top singles slot against Yohann Nograbat.

Drake concludes the regular season on Sunday (April 22) as the Bulldogs host Bradley in an 11:00 a.m. tilt.

No. 51 Drake def. Illinois State, 7-0
April 21, 2007
Des Moines, Iowa ? Drake Tennis Center
Records: Drake (20-2, 5-0 MVC), Illinois State (12-7, 5-1 MVC)

Singles
No. 1 Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Yohann Nograbat (ILLST), 6-1, 5-7, 6-1
No. 2 Sergi Vila (DU) def. Alfredo Lagarda (ILLST), 6-1, 7-6 (3)
No. 3 Dalibor Pavic (DU) def. Luka Marinkovic (ILLST), 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 Guilherme Marsiglia (DU) def. Daniel Tobar (ILLST), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
No. 5 Bokang Setshogo (DU) def. Xavier Riart-Ferrer (ILLST), 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Oscar Beich (ILLST), 6-4, 6-2

Doubles
No. 1 No. 47 Zirkin/Pavic (DU) def. Lagarda/Nograbat (ILLST), 8-4
No. 2 Tobar/Marinkovic (ILLST) def. Vila/Mendoza (DU), 8-3
No. 3 Setshogo/Marsiglia (DU) def. Beich/Michael Hobson (ILLST), 8-6