DALLAS, Texas - The 45th-rated Drake men's tennis
team earned victories in four of its six singles matches to complete a
come-from-behind 4-3 triumph over SMU on Wednesday (March 21).
The Mustangs stole
the early momentum in the affair collecting wins at the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles
positions to assume a 1-0 lead.
Senior Jonathan Hadash (Lapid,
Israel) got the Bulldogs into the scoring column first in singles downing
Tobias Flood at the No. 5 slot, 6-0, 6-1.
Junior James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) gave Drake
its first lead in the match besting Pablo Perez-Esnaola at No. 2, 7-5, 6-4.
SMU pushed the
Bulldogs to the brink of defeat registering victories at the Nos. 3 and 4 holes
to assume a 3-2 advantage.
Unwilling to let his
teammates down, junior Anis Ghorbel (Sfax, Tunisia) squared the affair at three besting
Gaston Cuadranti in three sets at the top slot, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Prior to the start of
his team's visit to Texas, Drake head coach Evan Austin stressed the value in practice of
fitness and hydration to the Bulldogs and the results were tangible in the
final tilt of the day against the Mustangs.
After dropping the
initial set at No. 6 versus Robert Sajovich, freshman Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England) rallied
to take the second frame, 7-5. In
the final set, Mullis led 2-0 when Sajovich retired due to cramping to give
Drake the deciding point in the affair.
The Bulldogs return
to action hosting UMKC on Friday (March 23) at 6:00 p.m. at the Roger Knapp
Tennis Center.
NO. 45 DRAKE (15-2)
DEF. SMU (7-6), 4-3
MARCH 21, 2012 • DALLAS,
TEXAS
SINGLES:
No. 1 Anis Ghorbel
(DU) def. Gaston Cuadranti (SMU), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 James McKie
(DU) def. Pablo Perez-Esnaola (SMU), 7-5, 6-4
No. 3 Arturs Kazijevs
(SMU) def. Jean Erasmus (DU), 6-2, 0-6, 7-6 (4)
No. 4 Mischa Nowicki
(SMU) def. Robin Goodman (DU), 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 Jonathan Hadash
(DU) def. Tobias Flood (SMU), 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 Ben Mullis (DU)
def. Robert Sajovich (SMU), 4-6, 7-5, 2-0 retired
Order of finish: (5,2,3,4,1,6)
DOUBLES:
No. 1 Ghorbel/McKie
(DU) def. Cuadranti/Perez-Esnaola (SMU), 8-5
No. 2 Flood/Kazijevs
(SMU) def. Cesar Bracho/Alen Salibasic (DU), 8-3
No. 3 Joseph
Hattrup/Sajovich (SMU) def. Erasmus/Goodman (DU), 9-7
Order of finish: (2,1,3)
