DES MOINES, IOWA ? The 52nd-rated Drake men's tennis team opened its dual campaign with a 6-1 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday (Jan. 26), extending its home-court winning streak to 36 consecutive matches.
The Bulldogs have also now won 22 straight regular season dual matches dating back to last season.
“This was a nice opening victory for the guys,” Drake head coach Chase Hodges said. “We had some solid singles performances and our doubles is improving. It is always beneficial to start the season out with a win. Our home winning streak continues to grow and that is exciting."
Drake took control of the affair by sweeping all three doubles contests to secure the doubles point. The duo of senior Dalibor Pavic (Adelaide, Australia) and junior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) improved to 4-0 on the spring with an 8-4 decision over Zach Frisch and Neil Lesinski at the top slot.
Pavic continued his stellar run of tennis at the No. 1 singles hole as he bettered Frisch, 6-2, 6-4.
Playing at the No. 3 singles slot for the first time this season, junior Ricardo Lau (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) responded posting a 6-2, 6-2 victory versus Lesinski.
In his initial action of the spring, sophomore Halvar Dil (Amersfort, The Netherlands) added a 6-0, 6-1 triumph against Andy Jones to the Drake win column.
Sophomore Bokang Setshogo (Gaborone, Botswana) and junior Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand) accounted for the Bulldogs' other singles victories, registering triumphs at the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
Drake now stands at 2-0 on the campaign after earning the victory over Western Illinois coupled with being awarded a 7-0 forfeit triumph when injuries prevented Graceland from competing in its scheduled contest with the Blue and White on Saturday.
Drake returns to action on Saturday (Feb. 2) as the Bulldogs host South Dakota State at 10:00 a.m.
No. 52 Drake def. Western Illinois, 6-1
Drake Tennis Center ? Jan. 26, 2008
Records: Drake (2-0), Western Illinois (0-1)
Singles:
No. 1 No. 16 Dalibor Pavic (DU) def. Zach Frisch (WIU), 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 Martin Bostrom (WIU) def. Mauricio Ballivian (DU), 7-6 (5), 6-3
No. 3 Ricardo Lau (DU) def. Neil Lesinski (WIU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 Bokang Setshogo (DU) def. Francisco Ortiz (WIU), 6-0, 6-2
No. 5 Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Sean Ragee-Nelson (WIU), 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 Halvar Dil (DU) def. Andy Jones (WIU), 6-0, 6-1
Doubles:
No. 1 Pavic/Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Frisch/Lesinski (WIU), 8-4
No. 2 Guilherme Marsiglia/Setshogo (DU) def. Bostrom/Ortiz (WIU), 8-7 (6)
No. 3 Mendoza/Ballivian (DU) def. Ragee-Nelson/Jones (WIU), 8-5
