WICHITA, KAN. - Drake head men's tennis coach Chase Hodges is known for telling people to live the dream and for his Bulldogs they made that dream a reality as Drake captured its third consecutive outright Missouri Valley Conference title on Saturday (April 18) on the strength of a 4-3 road victory over Wichita State.

The triumph was the 22nd straight against a league foe in the regular season and the 31st consecutive if the State Farm MVC Championship play is included in the equation.

The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to seven and pushed their ledger to 13-9 overall, including 6-0 in league competition.  The Shockers saw their record fall to 9-12 on the year and 4-2 in MVC action.

“The guys did a phenomenal job after dropping doubles point to come back to earn this victory,” Hodges commented.  “Cesar (Bracho) really stepped up to clinch the championship as he has been a difference maker this season.”

As has been the case in three of its last four regular season encounters with Wichita State, Drake dropped the doubles point in the affair as the Shockers claimed victories at the Nos 1 and 3 positions to assume a 1-0 advantage.

With its victory at the No. 1 doubles slot, Wichita State dealt Drake senior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) his first regular season conference loss of his career as the duo of Vlad Marinsecu and Adrian Chermaci bettered Zirkin and freshman Cesar Bracho (Luque, Paraguay), 8-6.

Senior Ricardo Lau (Tecugigalpa, Honduras) squared the affair at one in singles dispatching of Scott McCormick, 6-4, 6-1, at the No. 6 hole.

Sophomore Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) extended the margin to 2-1 on the strength of a 7-5, 6-1 decision against Adrian Chermaci at the No. 2 position.

Zirkin pushed Drake to within one point of victory with his 224th career win, a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Marinsecu at the top slot.

Wichita State cut the margin to 3-2 before Bracho sealed the triumph with his 6-4, 7-5 win versus Jonathan Obrist on the No. 3 court.

Wichita State garnered wins in the final two matches to bring the final score to 4-3 in favor of Drake.

“It is nice to win heading into the tournament as it was very important for us to secure the No. 1 seed and the bye that comes with it,” Hodges said.  “I'm very proud of the guys finishing the season with seven straight victories as we're playing great tennis at the right time.  We're looking forward to next weekend and attempting to get back to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight season.”

Drake will be the top seed at the State Farm MVC Championship next weekend and will open play against a yet-to-be determined opponent on Saturday (April 25) in Omaha, Neb.

DRAKE (13-9, 6-0 MVC) DEF. WICHITA STATE (9-12, 4-2 MVC), 4-3
APRIL 18, 2009
WICHITA, KAN.

SINGLES:
No. 1 Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Vlad Marinescu (WSU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Adrian Chermaci (WSU), 7-5, 6-1
No. 3 Cesar Bracho (DU) def. Jonathan Obrist (WSU), 6-4, 7-5
No. 4 David Cavalcanti (WSU) def. Ivan Mendoza (DU), 7-6 (4), 6-2
No. 5 Matt Teivans (WSU) def. Guilherme Marsiglia (DU), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
No. 6 Ricardo Lau (DU) def. Scott McCormick (WSU), 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish (6,2,1,4,3,5)

DOUBLES:
No. 1 Marinescu/Chermaci (WSU) def. Zirkin/Bracho (DU), 8-6
No. 2 Ballivian/Mendoza (DU) def. McCormick/Teivans (WSU), 8-2
No. 3 Obrist/Cavalcanti (WSU) def. Marsiglia/Lau (DU), L 9-8 (3)
Order of finish (2,1,3)