DES MOINES, Iowa - The
49th-rated Drake men's tennis squad moved closer to its goal of earning the
Missouri Valley Conference regular season crown on Sunday (April 15) posting a 7-0 victory over Southern Illinois at the Roger Knapp Tennis
Center.
Drake opened its day sweeping the doubles competition with the duo of
juniors Anis Ghorbel (Sfax, Tunisia)
and James McKie (Edinburgh,
Scotland) notching the doubles tally on the strength of an 8-4 triumph over
Rafael Cuadrillero and Brandon Florez on court No. 1.
Drake garnered victories in rapid-fire succession on courts two, four
and six, respectively, to secure the Bulldogs' eighth-straight triumph.
First off the court was McKie, who bested Stanislas Rodier at the No. 2
position, 6-1, 6-1.
Within seconds junior Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia) followed in triumph posting a 6-2, 6-1 decision
past Orhan Spahic at No. 4.
Almost as quick as Erasmus had exited the court, sophomore Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England) clinched the
match in favor of Drake at the No. 6 slot, downing Szymon Opieczonek, by an
identical 6-2, 6-1 score.
The Bulldogs also garnered victories on courts one, three and five,
respectively, to notch Drake's 12th 7-0 win of the year, including three in MVC
action.
Ghorbel netted a 6-2, 7-5 triumph over Badr Cherradi on court No. 1,
while senior Jonathan Hadash (Lapid,
Israel) defeated Florez at No. 3, 6-4, 6-1. Freshman Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) rounded out the win column registering
a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Cuadrillero at No. 5.
Drake will host Wichita State on Saturday (April 21) in an 11:00 a.m.
tilt at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
A victory will give the Bulldogs their fifth regular season MVC crown in
the last six years and second straight.
NO. 49 DRAKE (21-2, 4-0 MVC) DEF. SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS (7-12, 1-2 MVC), 7-0
APRIL 15, 2012 • ROGER KNAPP
TENNIS CENTER
SINGLES:
No. 1 Anis Ghorbel (DU) def. Badr Cherradi (SIU), 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 James McKie (DU) def. Stanislas Rodier (SIU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 Jonathan Hadash (DU) def. Brandon Florez (SIU), 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 Jean Erasmus (DU) def. Orhan Spahic (SIU), 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 Alen Salibasic (DU) def. Rafael Cuadrillero (SIU), 6-2, 6-0
No. 6 Robin Goodman (DU) def. Szymon Opieczonek (SIU), 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: (2,4,6,5,3,1)
DOUBLES:
No. 1 Ghorbel/McKie (DU) def. Cuadrillero/Florez (SIU), 8-4
No. 3 Erasmus/Goodman (DU) def. Opieczonek/Spahic (SIU), 8-3
No. 2 Cesar Bracho/Salibasic (DU) def. Cherradi/Snyder (SIU), 8-4
Order of finish: (3,1,2)
