DES MOINES, IOWA ? The beat rolled on for the Drake men's tennis team on Sunday (Feb. 24) as the Bulldogs downed UMKC, 7-0, for their 32nd straight regular season victory.
The win marked the 40th consecutive triumph at the Drake Tennis Center pushing the Bulldogs to 10-0 on the campaign. The Kangaroos dropped to 0-2 overall with the setback.
"Thirty-two wins in a row is a pretty special achievement for us,” Drake head coach Chase Hodges commented. “The guys are doing a great job of staying focused and taking care of business. A 7-0 victory is just what we needed this afternoon, as this was our third match in three days. We look forward to a tough challenge on Wednesday night against Iowa."
The Bulldogs continued their solid doubles play as the squad swept all three contests from UMKC.
The momentum continued in singles play as Drake took all six matches in straight sets.
Junior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) collected a 6-1, 6-2 triumph at No. 1, bettering Patrick Smith.
Playing at the second singles slot, junior Ricardo Lau (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) improved to 6-3 on the dual campaign with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 decision over Serge Ristovojevic.
The Bulldogs also garnered victories from freshman Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), sophomore Bokang Setshogo (Gaborone, Botswana), junior Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand) and sophomore Guilherme Marsiglia (Porto Alegre, Brazil).
Drake faces an in-state battle on Wednesday (Feb. 27) as the Bulldogs host Iowa at 6:00 p.m.
No. 51 Drake def. UMKC, 7-0
Drake Tennis Center ? Feb. 24, 2008
Records: Drake (10-0), UMKC (0-2)
Singles:
No. 1 Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Patrick Smith (UMKC), 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Ricardo Lau (DU) def. Serge Ristivojevic (UMKC), 7-6 (3), 6-1
No. 3 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Dennis Schwarz (UMKC), 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 Bokang Setshogo (DU) def. Erwin Quintanilla (UMKC), 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Nick Patonai (UMKC), 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 Guilherme Marsiglia (DU) def. Nick Mader (UMKC), 6-1, 6-2
Doubles:
No. 1 Pavic/Zirkin (DU) def. Ristivojevic/Smith (UMKC), 8-3
No. 2 Lau/Setshogo (DU) def. Schwarz/Quintanilla (UMKC), 8-3
No. 3 Mendoza/Ballivian (DU) def. Mader/Patonai (UMKC), 8-1
