EVANSVILLE, IND. ? Rallying back from a 2-0 deficit, the Bulldogs won five unanswered singles contests en route to claiming a 5-2 women's tennis victory at Evansville on Saturday (April 12).

Drake evened its Missouri Valley Conference mark at 3-3 with the win, while moving to 9-12 overall. The setback dropped the Purple Aces to 11-8, including 1-3 in league play.

The two sides split the pair of contested doubles matches with Evansville collecting the point after the Bulldogs were forced to default at the No. 3 position.

Junior Veronika Leszayova (Povazska Bystrica, Slovak Republic) improved to 13-8 on the dual campaign bettering Lisa Kawamoto, 6-1, 6-3 at the top singles slot.

Senior Irina Kalashnikova (Sochi, Russia) followed suit with a come-from-behind 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Kate Chybowski at No. 2.

Junior Kari Sloboth (Omaha, Neb.) netted a 6-4, 6-1 decision versus Sara Wilhoite at No. 3.

Senior Daria Zawislak (Gdansk, Poland) and junior Sarah Plowman (Halifax, Nova Scotia) rounded out the win total collecting victories at the Nos. 4 and 5 positions.

A showdown at Southern Illinois on Sunday (April 13) awaits the Bulldogs. Match time is slated for 10:00 a.m.

Drake def. Evansville, 5-2
Evansville, Ind. ? April 12, 2008
Records: Drake (9-12, 3-3 MVC), Evansville (11-8, 1-3 MVC)

Singles:
No. 1 Veronika Leszayova (DU) def. Lisa Kawamoto (UE), 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 Irina Kalasnikova (DU) def. Kate Chybowski (UE), 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 Kari Sloboth (DU) def. Sara Wilhoite (UE), 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 Daria Zawislak (DU) def. Pin Sorensen (UE), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 Sarah Plowman (DU) def. Allison Cox (UE), 6-4, 6-0
No. 6 Riette Kotze (UE) won by default

Doubles:
No. 1 Chybowski/Sorensen (UE) def. Leszayova/Plowman (DU), 9-7
No. 2 Kalashnikova/Sloboth (DU) def. Wilhoite/Kawamoto (UE), 8-3
No. 3 Rietze/Stephanie Millis (UE) won by default