ST. LOUIS, MO. - The Missouri Valley Conference has announced that Drake senior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) has been selected as the State Farm MVC Men's Tennis Player of the Week.  This marks the first such accolade for a Drake men's tennis player this season and the sixth time in Zirkin's career he has been so honored.

Zirkin, the 2007 MVC Player of the Year, added his 197th and 198th career victories against No. 48 Denver last Saturday (Feb. 7).  The wins moved him to within eight victories of equaling Robert Novotny (1993-97) and Dalibor Pavic (2004-08) atop the Drake all-time wins list with 206.  

Zirkin, rated No. 116 in the latest ITA singles rankings defeated Martin Zimmermann to give Drake an early 2-0 advantage over the Pioneers.  He also paired with freshman Evgeny Silitski to earn an 8-4 victory against Zimmermann and David Simson.

Zirkin has not lost a league match in either singles or doubles since his freshman campaign.  This season, he has posted a 23-7 combined singles/doubles ledger.

No. 54 Drake (0-3) entertains Saint Louis and Western Illinois on Saturday (Feb. 14) and Sunday (Feb. 15), respectively at the Drake Tennis Center.  Both matches commence at noon.