DES MOINES, IOWA ? The Drake women's tennis team snapped a two-match losing streak on Saturday (March 29) as the Bulldogs opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 6-1 victory over Creighton at the Drake Tennis Center.

Drake stands at 7-9 overall, including 1-0 in the MVC with the triumph, while the Bluejays fell to 5-6 on the campaign and 0-2 in league action.

With each team only having five available players, the two sides played a tilt where each contest counted as a point in deciding the ultimate victor.

Drake started the affair on the right foot as the Bulldogs swept both doubles matches to assume a 2-0 advantage, heading into singles play.

The lead swelled to 3-0 on the strength of senior Daria Zawislak's (Gdansk, Poland) 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Rachelle Shoji at No. 5.

Junior Veronika Leszayova (Povazska Bystrica, Slovak Republic) sealed the Drake win downing Lindsey Erickson, 6-4, 6-0 at the top singles slot.

Rounding out the victory total for the Bulldogs was senior Irina Kalashnikova (Sochi, Russia) and junior Kari Sloboth (Omaha, Neb.). Kalashnikova posted a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 2, while Sloboth netted a 6-3, 6-0 decision at No. 3.

Drake hits the court on Sunday (March 30) as the Bulldogs host their in-state rival Northern Iowa at 1:00 p.m.

Drake def. Creighton, 6-1
Drake Tennis Center ? March 29, 2008
Records: Drake (7-9, 1-0 MVC), Creighton (5-6, 0-2 MVC)

Singles:
No. 1 Veronika Leszayova (DU) def. Lindsey Erickson (CU), 6-4, 6-0
No. 2 Irina Kalashnikova (DU) def. Lauren Mastro (CU), 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 Kari Sloboth (DU) def. Sarah Cadwallader (CU), 6-3, 6-0
No. 4 Leesa Cadwallader (CU) def. Sarah Plowman (DU), 6-7 (7), 6-2, 10-5
No. 5 Daria Zawislak (DU) def. Rachelle Shoji (CU), 6-0, 6-0

Doubles:
No. 1 Leszayova/Plowman (DU) def. L. Cadwallader/S. Cadwallader (CU), 8-5
No. 2 Kalashnikova/Sloboth (DU) def. Erickson/Mastro (CU), 9-7