DES MOINES, IOWA ? Playing outdoors for the first time at the Drake Tennis Center this spring, the Drake men's tennis persevered through the elements to notch its 39th consecutive regular season victory with a 7-0 triumph over Creighton on Saturday (March 29) in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for the Bulldogs.
Drake extended its home-court winning streak to 44 straight, the second-best mark in the nation, with the triumph and now stands at 17-0 on the campaign, including 1-0 in the MVC. The Blujays dropped to 6-6 overall and 0-2 in league play. The victory marked the 12th consecutive against conference foes for the Bulldogs.
“The conditions today weren't ideal but the guys did a great job of taking care of business and getting the win,” Bulldog head coach Chase Hodges said. “It was nice to get our first conference win but we know we need to be prepared for Illinois State and Bradley next weekend.”
Playing in the Drake doubles line-up for the first time in nearly two months, sophomore Guilherme Marsiglia (Porto Alegre, Brazil) stepped in seamlessly and teamed with fellow sophomore Bokang Setshogo (Gaborone, Botswana) to clinch the doubles point with an 8-3 decision over Ross Allen and Bryan Lube at the No. 3 position.
He then extended Drake's lead to 2-0 following his 6-0, 6-0 win over Lube at the sixth singles hole.
Freshman Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) took the advantage out to 3-0 collecting an identical 6-0, 6-0 victory against Joe Eckert at No. 3.
Clinching the triumph for the Bulldogs at No. 5 was junior Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand), who netted a 6-1, 6-0 decision versus James McAvoy.
Senior Dalibor Pavic (Adelaide, Australia) made Drake history with his 6-1, 6-3 triumph at the top singles hole against Joes Guerra as the win coupled with his doubles victory moved him into a second-place tie with former teammate Sergi Vila in career victories with 194.
Rounding out the victory total for the Bulldogs was junior Maor Zirkin (KIbutz Hazor, Israel) and Setshogo. Zirkin downed Nikita Dudar, 6-0, 6-1 at the second slot, while Setshogo bettered Brian Ward at No. 4, 6-1, 6-0.
The Bulldogs hit the road for a pair of pivotal league showdowns next weekend as Drake battles Illinois State on Friday (April 4) and Bradley on Saturday (April 5).
No. 37 Drake def. Creighton, 7-0
Drake Tennis Center ? March 29, 2008
Records: Drake (17-0, 1-0 MVC), Creighton (6-6, 0-2 MVC)
Singles:
No. 1 No. 64 Dalibor Pavic (DU) def. Jose Guerra (CU), 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Nikita Dudar (CU), 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Joe Eckert (CU), 6-0, 6-0
No. 4 Bokang Setshogo (DU) def. Brian Ward (CU), 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. James McAvoy (CU), 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 Guilherme Marsiglia (DU) def. Bryan Lube (CU), 6-0, 6-0
Doubles:
No. 1 Pavic/Zirkin (DU) def. Eckert/Dudar (CU), 8-2
No. 3 Ballivian/Mendoza (DU) def. Ward/Guerra (CU), 8-5
No. 2 Setshogo/Marsiglia (DU) def. Lube/Ross Allen (CU), 8-3
