DES MOINES, IOWA - The Drake men's tennis earned a 4-0 decision over visiting Saint Louis on Friday (April 9) at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

Due to travel considerations for the Billikens, singles play was halted once the deciding point had been decided.

The doubles point was hotly contested coming down to the No. 1 court where junior Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) and freshman James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) earned a 7-5 decision in the tiebreaker to garner a 9-8 decision over James McArthur and P.J. Hendrie.

"James (McKie) and Mauricio (Ballivian) stepped up huge today in doubles," Drake head coach Jimmy Borendame commented.  "When those two work together like they did today they can be a very tough team."

The Bulldogs proved efficient in singles action as Drake captured victories at the Nos. 4, 1 and 3 positions to secure the win.

Sophomore Jonathan Hadash (Lapid, Israel) gave Drake a 2-0 advantage besting Hendrie, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4.

The lead swelled to 3-0 after Ballivian registered a 6-2, 6-2 triumph against McArthur at the top singles slot.

Freshman Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia) sealed the victory for the Bulldogs with his 12th consecutive singles win, 6-5, 6-1 versus Jake Hendrie at No. 3.

"In singles, Mauricio got revenge on a player that beat him a year ago and he clearly has improved his tennis," said Borendame.  "Jonathan (Hadash) came through in a big way and we're looking to keep this momentum going into our match with Southern Illinois on Sunday (April 11)."

The Bulldogs close out their home schedule on Sunday (April 11) entertaining Southern Illinois in a key Missouri Valley Conference showdown.  Match time at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center is slated for 11:00 a.m.

DRAKE (12-7) DEF. SAINT LOUIS (9-5), 4-0

APRIL 9, 2010 - DES MOINES, IOWA

ROGER KNAPP TENNIS CENTER

SINGLES:

No. 1 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. James McArthur (SLU), 6-2, 6-2

No. 2 James McKie (DU) led Ken Nordheim (SLU), 6-4, 2-4 unfinished

No. 3 Jean Erasmus (DU) def. Jake Hendrie (SLU), 6-4, 6-1

No. 4 Jonathan Hadash (DU) def. P.J. Hendrie (SLU), 6-0, 6-0

No. 5 Bryan Beasley (SLU) led Ryan Drake (DU), 7-6 (2), 1-1 unfinished

No. 6 Ryan King (DU) led Drew Feder (SLU), 7-5, 4-0 unfinished

Order of finish (4,1,3)

DOUBLES:

No. 1 Ballivian/McKie (DU) def. McArthur/P.J. Hendrie (SLU), 9-8 (5)

No. 2 Hadash/Erasmus (DU) def. Chris Eriksson/Nordheim (SLU), 8-5

No. 3 Feder/Jake Hendrie (SLU) def. Drake/King (DU), 8-5

Order of finish (3,2,1)