OMAHA, NEB. - With one simple swing of the racket the record had fallen and senior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) triumphantly raised one finger in the air to symbolize his accomplishment on supplanting Robert Novotny (1993-97) and Dalibor Pavic (2004-08) atop the all-time Drake men's tennis victory list with his 207th career triumph.  

The 8-5 doubles win at the No. 1 position with freshman Evgeny Silitski (Minsk, Belarus) provided Drake a lead it didn't relinquish in a 7-0 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Creighton on Wednesday (March 4)    

The triumph snapped a two-match losing streak for the Bulldogs and improved their ledger to 4-8 on the year and 1-0 in conference play, while extending Drake's regular season MVC winning streak to 17.  The loss dropped the Bluejays to 0-4 overall, including 0-2 in league action.

“It is a great honor to break the record for victories at Drake,” Zirkin explained.  “Now I can relax and focus on our team goals which is to start winning again.”

“It is an incredible accomplishment for Maor,” Bulldog head coach Chase Hodges commented.  “To earn 208 wins is incredible and I feel honored and privileged to have been able to coach and watch all his victories the past four years.”

Sophomore Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) extended the margin to 2-0 on the strength of a 6-1, 6-2 decision versus Gabe Nagy at the No. 2 position.  

The lead swelled to 3-0 after Zirkin collected his 208th career win dispatching of Jose Guerra, 6-0, 6-2, at the top singles hole.

Clinching the match for the Bulldogs was junior Guilherme Marsiglia (Porto Alegre, Brazil), who bettered Brian Ward, 6-1, 6-1, at the No. 5 slot.

Drake also garnered victories at the Nos. 3, 4 and 6 holes from Silitski, senior Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand) and sophomore Konrad Kamizelich (Chicago, Ill.).

“It was nice to get back on the winning track and start our conference season with a win,” Hodges said.  “I was very pleased with our performance.”

The Bulldogs return to the court on Sunday (March 8) as they entertain Gustavus Adolphus in a 2:00 p.m. matinee affair at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

DRAKE (4-8, 1-0 MVC) DEF. CREIGHTON (0-4, 0-2 MVC), 7-0
MARCH 4, 2009
OMAHA, NEB.

SINGLES:
No. 1 Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Jose Guerra (CU), 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Gabe Nagy (CU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Evgeny Silitski (DU) def. James McAvoy (CU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Kyle Obermeier (CU), 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 Guilherme Marsiglia (DU) def. Brian Ward (CU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 Konrad Kamizelich (DU) def. Bryan Lube (CU), 6-0, 5-7, 10-8
Order of finish (2,1,5,3,4,6)

DOUBLES:
No. 1 Zirkin/Silitski (DU) def. Elson/Guerra (CU), 8-5
No. 2 Mendoza/Ballivian (DU) def. Nagy/Ward (CU), 8-4
No. 3 McAvoy/Obermeier (CU) def. Kamizelich/Marsiglia (DU), 8-7 (4)
Order of finish (2,1,3)