DES MOINES, IOWA - The inability of the Drake men's tennis team to capitalize on its opportunities was ultimately the difference between an upset of in-state rival No. 55 Iowa and what went down as a 4-3 setback on Wednesday (Feb. 24) at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

"Tonight was a tough loss for the team, but we'll look to learn from it to become a better team starting with our match on Saturday versus DePaul," Bulldog head coach Jimmy Borendame commented.

The key encounter of the affair was on the No. 2 doubles court where with the score deadlocked at seven, the Hawkeye tandem of Tommy McGeorge and Will Vasos registered two unanswered tallies to clinch the doubles point with a 9-7 decision over freshman Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia) and senior Guilherme Marsiglia (Porto Alegre, Brazil).

Seconds later, junior Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) and freshman James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) captured an 8-6 win at the top doubles slot over Marc Bruche and Nikita Zotov to provide momentum for Drake heading into singles play.

McKie feed off that emotion squaring the tilt at one on the strength of a 6-2, 6-2 triumph versus Zotov at No. 2.

Iowa pushed the lead to 3-1 following McGeorge's 6-1, 6-2 win against Erasmus at No. 5 and Reinoud Haal's 7-5, 6-2 decision over sophomore Cesar Bracho (Luque, Paraguay) at No. 3.

Despite a spirited comeback from Marsiglia, Vasos recorded a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win at the No. 4 position.  With the deciding third frame even at three, a call went against the Bulldog and Vasos stole the momentum to secure the match for the Hawkeyes.

Drake received victories from Ballivian and sophomore Jonathan Hadash (Lapid, Israel) at the Nos. 1 and 6 courts to account for the final two points on the evening.

The Bulldogs return to action hosting DePaul on Saturday (Feb. 27) at 2:00 p.m.

NO. 55 IOWA (5-1) DEF. DRAKE (2-4), 4-3

FEB. 24, 2010 - DES MOINES, IOWA

ROGER KNAPP TENNIS CENTER

SINGLES:

No. 1 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Marc Bruche (IOWA), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3

No. 2 James McKie (DU) def. Nikita Zotov (IOWA), 6-2, 6-2

No. 3 Reinoud Haal (IOWA) def. Cesar Bracho (DU), 7-5, 6-2

No. 4 Will Vasos (IOWA) def. Guilherme Marsiglia (DU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

No. 5 Tommy McGeorge (IOWA) def. Jean Erasmus (DU), 6-1, 6-2

No. 6 Jonathan Hadash (DU) def. Austen Kauss (IOWA), 7-5, 6-3

Order of finish (2,5,3,4,1,6)

DOUBLES:

No. 1 McKie/Ballivian (DU) def. Bruche/Zotov (IOWA), 8-6

No. 2 McGeorge/Vasos (IOWA) def. Erasmus/Marsiglia (DU), 9-7

No. 3 Garrett Dunn/Haal (IOWA) def. Bracho/Hadash (DU), 8-3

Order of finish (3,2,1)