DES MOINES, Iowa -
Turning in a
defining win for the Drake women's tennis program, the Bulldogs notched a 6-1
victory past Illinois State on Saturday (April 7) at the Roger Knapp Tennis
Center.
Playing in their
final home matches at Drake, seniors Jessica Aguilera (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), Amanda Aragon (Fort
Collins, Colo.), Gabriela Demos (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Earlynn Lauer (Wichita, Kan.), along with junior Manca Krizman (Solkan,
Slovenia) registered the Bulldogs' initial win over the Redbirds since a 4-3
win on April 7, 2002, a span of 14 matches.
"Words cannot express
how proud and happy I am for these young ladies, especially these five
seniors," Bulldog head coach Paul Thomson commented.
"It's a great start to the conference season, but we still have a great deal of
work to do and can still improve.
Hats off to Illinois State, they are a very good team and put forth a
great effort."
The Bulldogs seized
control of the match in doubles as the tandem of Aragon and freshman Nell Boyd (Arlington
Heights, Ill.) clinched the doubles tally with an 8-5 triumph over Hannah Esker
and Stefanie Youngberg at the No. 3 position. The two sides had split decisions in the top-two doubles
tilts.
In singles, Drake
exerted its momentum winning three straight to secure the victory in the
affair.
Demos began the run
by downing Phyllis Tigges on court No. 3, 6-1, 6-1, before Krizman notched her
25th-straight singles win at the top slot, 6-1, 7-5, past Aniko Kiss.
Falling behind 3-0 in
the first set of her showdown with Ariane Maack at No. 4, Boyd fought back to
take a 7-5, 6-3 decision to earn the match-clinching point and keep the
Bulldogs undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play at 3-0.
After an Illinois
State victory at the No. 6 position, Drake closed the affair with wins on the
Nos. 2 and 5 courts courtesy of sophomore Klavdija Rebol (Kranj, Slovenia) and junior Ali Patterson (Overland
Park, Kan.).
Patterson's effort
was even more impressive considering she trailed in the third set, 5-1, before
rallying to defeat Youngberg, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Drake returns to
action next weekend with matches at Southern Illinois and Evansville on
Saturday (April 14) and Sunday (April 15), respectively.
DRAKE (19-4, 3-0
MVC) DEF. ILLINOIS STATE (7-10, 1-1 MVC), 6-1
APRIL 7, 2012 •
ROGER KNAPP TENNIS CENTER
SINGLES:
No. 1 Manca Krizman
(DU) def. Aniko Kiss (ILS), 6-1, 7-5
No. 2 Klavdija Rebol
(DU) def. Emmie Marx (ILS), 2-6, 7-5, 6-0
No. 3 Gabriela Demos
(DU) def. Phyllis Tigges (ILS), 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 Nell Boyd (DU)
def. Ariane Maack (ILS), 7-5, 6-3
No. 5 Ali Patterson
(DU) def. Stefanie Youngberg (ILS), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 Hannah Esker
(ILS) def. Jessica Aguilera (DU), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: (3,1,4,6,2,5)
DOUBLES:
No. 1 Demos/Krizman
(DU) def. Kiss/Marx (ILS), 8-3
No. 2 Maack/Tigges
(ILS) def. Aguilera/Rebol (DU), 8-5
No. 3 Amanda Aragon/Boyd (DU) def. Esker/Youngberg (ILS), 8-5
Order of finish: (1,2,3)
