No. 75 UNC Wilmington Registers 6-1 Victory Over Drake

WILMINGTON, N.C. - In what may go down as a valuable teaching lesson as the Drake men's tennis team prepares to chase its fourth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular season title, the Bulldogs battled before ultimately dropping a 6-1 decision at No. 75 UNC Wilmington on Thursday (March 18).

"Today was a tough loss, but it is one as we move forward that will provide lessons more valuable than anything we've gained in our wins" Bulldog head coach Jimmy Borendame commented.

With a weather forecast for rain, both coaches agreed prior to the match that doubles action was to be halted once the point was determined and Drake came up short as the Seahawks collected wins at the Nos. 2 and 3 slots.

In the lone match remaining on the court, the tandem of junior Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) and freshman James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) was trailing Max Ando Hirsh and Kinshuk Sharma, 7-6, at the top position when the point was determined.

In singles, the Seahawks gained several fortuitous calls that enabled UNC Wilmington to claim victories at five of the six singles positions.

Freshman Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia) claimed the Bulldogs' lone triumph in singles play downing Hirsh at No. 6, 6-4, 7-5.

Drake returns to action Friday (March 19) with a 9:00 a.m. tilt versus New Orleans.

NO. 75 UNC WILMINGTON (9-4) DEF. DRAKE (9-6), 6-1

MARCH 18, 2010 - WILMINGTON, N.C.

SINGLES:

No. 1 Michael Pereira (UNCW) def. Mauricio Ballivian (DU), 6-3, 6-3

No. 2 Kinshuk Sharma (UNCW) def. James McKie (DU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3

No. 3 Kosta Blank (UNCW) def. Guilherme Marsiglia (DU), 6-7 (5), 6-1, 10-6

No. 4 Illia Ziamtsou (UNCW) def. Cesar Bracho (DU), 6-4, 6-1

No. 5 Alex Wetherell (UNCW) def. Jonathan Hadash (DU), 6-1, 6-3

No. 6 Jean Erasmus (DU) def. Max Ando Hirsh (UNCW), 6-4, 7-5