JANUARY 27, 2012

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Drake men's tennis team opened its dual campaign with a bang on Friday (Jan. 27) as the 67th-ranked Bulldogs registered a come-from-behind 4-2 victory over No. 66 and previously undefeated DePaul at the Harvard Kick-Off Invitational.

The triumph extended Drake's regular season winning streak to 14 and provided the Bulldogs with their first win over a ranked opponent since downing UNC Wilmington on March 18, 2009.

The Blue Demons seized the early momentum in the match by securing decisions at the Nos. 1 and 3 positions to stake themselves to a 1-0 lead entering singles competition.

Filip Dzanko extended DePaul's advantage at No. 2 singles, besting junior Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia), 6-1, 6-2.

Junior James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) collected the Bulldogs' first victory registering a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Sven Kasper at No. 3, to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Junior Anis Ghorbel (Sfax, Tunisia), the 51st-rated player in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, squared the affair at two, dispatching of George Chanturia at the top singles slot, 6-3, 6-3.

Sophomore Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England) placed Drake on the brink of recording the win dealing Aaron Chaffee a 6-1, 7-5 setback at No. 5 to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead.

Playing in his first career singles tilt, freshman Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England) recorded the deciding point in the match following his 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Adam Reinhart at No. 6.

Drake will close out its day at the Harvard Kick-Off Invitational battling No. 73 Harvard in doubles at 4:00 p.m. CT.

NO. 67 DRAKE (1-0) DEF. NO. 66 DEPAUL (4-1)

HARVARD KICK-OFF INVITATIONAL

JANUARY 27, 2012 • HARVARD, MASS.

SINGLES

No. 1 No. 51 Anis Ghorbel def. George Chanturia (DEP), 6-3, 6-3

No. 2 Filip Dzanko (DEP) def. Jean Erasmus (DU), 6-1, 6-2

No. 3 James McKie (DU) def. Sven Kasper (DEP), 6-3, 6-2

No. 4 Mathias Hambach (DEP) leading Alen Salibasic (DU), 6-1, 5-7, 3-2 did not finish

No. 5 Robin Goodman (DU) def. Aaron Chaffee (DEP), 6-1, 7-5

No. 6 Ben Mullis (DU) def. Adam Reinhart (DEP), 6-3, 6-2

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

DOUBLES

No. 1 Chanturia/Dzanko (DEP) def. Erasmus/McKie (DU), 8-3

No. 2 Hambach/Kasper (DEP) leading Ghorbel/Mullis (DU), 7-5 did not finish

No. 3 Chaffee/Matija Palinic (DEP) def. Goodman/Salibasic (DU), 8-6

Order of finish: (1,3)