DES MOINES, IOWA - Capping an undefeated regular season, the Drake men's tennis team captured its second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular season title on Friday (April 18) with a 5-2 triumph over Wichita State at the Drake Tennis Center.

The victory was the Bulldogs' 42nd straight regular season win and pushed their ledger to 22-0 overall, including finishing 6-0 in the MVC. The Shockers fell to 17-4 on the year and concluded league play at 5-1 mark. The triumph also extended the home-court winning streak for the Blue and White to 47 straight.

“To complete an undefeated regular season is an incredible accomplishment and it shows the tremendous dedication and work ethic of the guys to get it done,” Drake head coach Chase Hodges said. “We had teams coming at us all year and we took everyone's best shot and were able to get victories. I'm excited that the streak will carry over to next season and I can't say enough about our play today, particularly doubles.”

The Bulldogs' Achilles heel in recent history against the Shockers has been doubles play, where Drake has dropped the doubles point in each of the last two meetings with Wichita State.

Momentum shifted in this year's encounter as the tandem of sophomore Bokang Setshogo (Gaborone, Botswana) and junior Ricardo Lau (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) clinched the doubles point for the Bulldogs with their 8-3 victory over Jonathan Obrist and Kevin Gardner at the No. 3 position.

Winning their 10th consecutive decision at No. 1 for Drake was the tandem of senior Dalibor Pavic (Adelaide, Australia) and junior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel), who downed Tiago Espirito Santo and Matt Teivans, 8-2.

The Shockers earned a retirement triumph at No. 3 singles to square the match at one before the Bulldogs rolled off three straight victories to clinch the match and the MVC title.

Pavic moved to within two wins of equaling Robert Novotny atop Drake's all-time victory list (206) netting his 204th career win with a 6-2, 6-2 decision against Espirito Santo at No. 1. The triumph was the 17th straight for Pavic.

Zirkin pushed the advantage to 3-1 after registering a 6-2, 6-3 victory versus Albert Ballesta at the second position.

Junior Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand) then clinched Drake's second consecutive regular season crown with his 6-2, 6-0 victory over Teivans at No. 6. The win marked the second straight season that Mendoza has clinched the deciding point in the Bulldogs' regular season championship.

Handing Setshogo his first-ever MVC singles loss and snapping a 21-match winning streak was Adrian Chermaci, who downed Setshogo at No. 5, 6-4, 6-2.

Freshman Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) contributed his 13th consecutive singles win bettering Obrist at the No. 4 hole, 6-3, 3-6, 10-5.

“Today was a complete team effort,” Hodges commented. “Wichita State is a very good team and in my opinion deserves to be nationally ranked. We'll take the win and move forward, but we realize we still have work to do if we hope to win a title next weekend.”

Drake will now open the 2008 State Farm MVC Championship on Saturday (April 26) as the top seed in Omaha, Neb.

No. 51 Drake def. Indiana State, 5-2
Drake Tennis Center ? April 18, 2008
Records: Drake (22-0, 6-0 MVC), Wichita State (17-4, 5-1 MVC)

Singles:
No. 1 No. 73 Dalibor Pavic (DU) def. Tiago Espirito Santo (WSU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Albert Ballesta (WSU), 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 Thiago Dos Santos (WSU) def. Ricardo Lau (DU), 6-0, 3-0, retired
No. 4 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Jonathan Obrist (WSU), 6-3, 3-6, 10-5
No. 5 Adrian Chermaci (WSU) def. Bokang Setshogo (DU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Matt Tievans (WSU), 6-2, 6-0

Doubles:
No. 1 Pavic /Zirkin (DU) def. Tievans/ Espirito Santo (WSU) 8-2
No. 2 Ballesta/Dos Santos (WSU) def. Ballivian /Mendoza (DU) 8-7 (10-5)
No. 3 Setshogo/Lau (DU) def. Obrist/Kevin Gardner (WSU) 8-3

**After an ITA clarification at the request of Drake, the Bulldogs regular season winning streak has been adjusted. Today's win was their 42nd straight regular season triumph, with the streak now carrying over to next season.**