DES MOINES, IOWA - The Drake men's tennis team posted a 6-1 triumph over Gustavus Adolphus on Sunday (March 8) at the Roger Knapp Center as the Bulldogs took seven of the nine matches en route to registering their second consecutive triumph.

The victory enabled Drake to push its record to 5-8 overall, while dropping the Gusties to 11-4.

“It was a nice win today,” Bulldog head coach Chase Hodges commented.  “Our top two doubles teams played very well and I'm pleased with their progress.  In singles, our top five took care of business in straight sets.  We've now won two in a row and hopefully we can carry the momentum over into a challenging spring break trip.”

For the second consecutive match it was the tandem of senior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) and freshman Evgeny Silitski (Minsk, Belarus) that clinched the doubles point for Drake as the duo netted an 8-6 decision at the No. 1 slot over John Kauss and Mike Burdakin.

Sophomore Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) and Silitski pushed the margin to 3-0 in singles before for the second time this week, junior Guilherme Marsiglia (Porto Alegre, Brazil), sealed the Bulldog triumph with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 4 over Kevin Stickney.

Senior Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand) and Zirkin added a pair of triumphs to round out the Drake victory total.

The Bulldogs resume competition on March 15 as Drake faces Gardner-Webb in a 2:00 p.m. tilt in Wilmington, N.C.

DRAKE (5-8) DEF. GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS (11-4), 6-1
MARCH 8, 2009
ROGER KNAPP TENNIS CENTER ? DES MOINES, IOWA

SINGLES:
No. 1 Maor Zirkin (DU) def. John Kauss (GA), 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Charlie Paukert (GA), 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 Evgeny Silitski (DU) def. Mike Burdakin (GA), 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 Guilherme Marsiglia (DU) def. Kevin Stickney (GA), 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Benjamin Tomasek (GA), 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 Patrick Clark (GA) def. Konrad Kamizelich (DU), 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish (2,3,4,5,6,1)

DOUBLES:
No. 1 Zirkin/Silitski (DU) def. Kauss/Burdakin (GA), 8-6
No. 2 Mendoza/Ballivian (DU) def. Tomasek/Paukert (GA), 8-4
No. 3 Nicholas Hansen/Stickney (GA) def. Kamizelich/Marsiglia (DU), 8-5
Order of finish (3,2,1)