NORMAL, ILL. ? Persevering through a hostile playing environment, the 51st-ranked Drake men's tennis team posted its 40th straight regular season victory with a 7-0 triumph at Illinois State on Saturday (April 5).

Drake extended its ledger to 18-0 on the campaign, including 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while dropping the Redbirds to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in league play.

“A 7-0 victory at Illinois State is very impressive,” Bulldog head coach Chase Hodges said. “The guys did a great job of overcoming an extremely hostile environment and earning a win over a quality team. It was a huge victory in terms of our league season and I'm proud of the guys for playing with class and representing Drake in a first-class manner.”

Illinois State had the decked stacked against it before the contest even began as the Redbirds had only five players available to compete and were forced to default at the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles positions.

The Bulldogs displayed a business-like approach in their play taking all seven matches that were contested.

The tandem of senior Dalibor Pavic (Adelaide, Australia) and junior Maor Zirkin (KIbutz Hazor, Israel) clinched the doubles points for the Bulldogs downing Luka Marinkovic and Nuno Jacinto at the No. 1 position, 8-3.

The victory was the 195th in the career of Pavic, moving him past Sergi Vila into second place all-time at Drake.

Freshman Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) extended the advantage in singles to 3-0 on the strength of a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Filip Miljevic at the No. 4 hole.

Pavic clinched the triumph for the Blue and White downing Marinkovic at the top position, 6-0, 6-3.

Drake also garnered victories at the fifth, second and third positions, respectively from sophomore Bokang Setshogo (Gaborone, Botswana), Zirkin and junior Ricardo Lau (Tegucigalpa, Honduras).

Lau's victory may have been the most impressive as he rallied to earn a 7-5, 3-6, 10-7 win against Daniel Tobar.

“Ricardo picked up a huge victory for us today coming through in three sets,” Hodges said.

The Bulldogs close out their road slate for the year on Sunday (April 6) as Drake faces Bradley at 1:00 p.m.

No. 51 Drake def. Illinois State, 7-0
Peoria, Ill. ? April 5, 2008
Records: Drake (18-0, 2-0 MVC), Illinois State (9-5, 2-1 MVC)

Singles:
No. 1 No. 68 Dalibor Pavic (DU) def. Luka Marinkovic (ILS), 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Nuno Jacinto (ILS), 6-1, 7-5
No. 3 Ricardo Lau (DU) def. Daniel Tobar (ILS), 7-5, 3-6, 10-7
No. 4 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Filip Miljevic (ILS), 6-0, 6-2
No. 5 Bokang Setshogo (DU) def. Michael Hobson (ILS), 6-2, 6-4
No. 6 Ivan Mendoza (DU) won by default

Doubles:
No. 1 Pavic/Zirkin (DU) def. Marinkovic/Jacinto (ILS), 8-3
No. 3 Ballivian/Mendoza (DU) def. Tobar/Hobson (ILS), 8-5
No. 2 Setshogo/Marsiglia (DU) won by default