WHAT'S AHEAD
The Drake women's tennis team commences its home campaign this Saturday (Feb. 2) as the Bulldogs host UMKC in a 10:00 a.m. tilt at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
A LOOK BACK
The Bulldogs earned a split of their opening weekend matches besting Chicago State last Friday (Jan. 25), 6-1, before falling by an identical score against Bowling Green last Saturday (Jan. 26).
Drake swept the doubles competition against Chicago State with the duo of freshman Jordan Eggleston (LaQuinta, Calif.) and junior Klavdija Rebol (Kranj, Slovenia) earning the clinching tally with an 8-5 decision at the No. 1 position.
Drake stretched its advantage to within one point of victory after singles wins from Eggleston and freshman Evy Van Genechten (Antwerp, Belgium).
The Cougars collected a victory at No. 1 before sophomore Amanda Dick (Kenosha, Wis.) clinched the decision with a 6-4, 6-3 win on the No. 6 court.
Drake also garnered triumphs at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions from Rebol and freshman Lea Kozulic (Varazdin, Croatia).
Drake closed out its weekend road swing suffering a 6-1 setback versus Bowling Green.
The Falcons swept the doubles matches to assume a 1-0 lead.
Drake garnered its lone singles victory at the No. 4 position where Van Genechten earned a 6-3, 6-2 win past Mary Hill.
IN OUR LAST ENCOUNTER
Drake registered a 6-1 home triumph over UMKC earlier on Feb. 18, 2012, at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
The Bulldogs garnered victories at the top two doubles positions to assume a lead they didn't relinquish.
Nell Boyd (Overland Park, Kan.) and Gabriela Demos extended Drake's margin to within a point of victory with decisions at the Nos. 3 and 4 singles slots.
Jessica Aguilera sealed the triumph with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 5. Rounding out the Bulldogs' victory total on the top-two courts were Klavdija Rebol and Manca Krizman.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Drake returns four letterwinners from a squad that posted a school record in wins with a 22-7 ledger last spring, including a second-place showing in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bulldogs picked up where they left off a year ago in the fall, registering a 102-76 combined singles/doubles record.
Jordan Eggleston and Maddie Johnson led Drake with 22-9 and 20-9 combined singles/doubles ledgers, respectively. Eggleston registered a team-best 12 singles victories, while matching Klavdija Rebol with a team-high 10 doubles triumphs.
The Bulldogs also received combined double-digit victory totals from freshman Mariel Ante (Riverside, Calif.), Nell Boyd, Rebol, Evy Van Genechten, Ali Patterson and Lea Kozulic with 17, 16, 14, 14, 13 and 12 wins, respectively.
DRAKE HEAD COACH PAUL THOMSON
Paul Thomson is in his third season leading the Drake women's tennis program after serving five years (2005-10) as head men's and women's coach at Brevard College in Brevard, N.C.
Thomson led the Bulldogs to a 13-10 mark during his inaugural campaign, including a 4-3 third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference and Drake's first winning record since 2006.
During his rookie season guiding the Bulldogs, he mentored then freshman Klavdija Rebol, who became Drake's initial first team All-MVC performer since 2005, garnering all-league accolades at the No. 3 singles position. Manca Krizman was also honored for her play on the court, being named to the All-Select squad by the MVC coaches.
Off the court, Gabriela Demos was honored for the second-consecutive year as a first team MVC Scholar-Athlete selection.
In 2012, Thomson led the Bulldogs to a record-setting 22-7 ledger, en route to a 5-2 second-place finish in the MVC. The 22 victories established a school record for wins and allowed Drake to surpass the 20-victory plateau for only the second time in school history.
The Bulldogs captured their initial postseason triumph since 2006 when Drake advanced to the State Farm MVC Championship semifinals with a 4-1 victory over Northern Iowa.
Five players earned 20 or more singles wins, sparked by Krizman, who posted a team-best 31-5 singles record, which included a 25-match winning streak. Every Bulldog registered a winning singles' record, while all but one Drake player matched the feat in doubles, led by 27 wins courtesy of Demos.
Pulling in MVC All-Select team honors were Krizman and Rebol, while Demos was named to the All-MVC Scholar Athlete first team for the third-consecutive campaign. Collecting honorable mention All-MVC Scholar-Athlete accolades was Krizman.
Drake's senior class of Amanda Aragon, Jessica Aguilera, Demos, Krizman and Earlynn Lauer made its mark on the Bulldogs' program. Demos finished first in school history (since 2006-07) in combined career victories (139), while ranking third in school history (since 1990-91) in career doubles wins (74). Krizman is third in school history (since 2006-07) in combined career victories (126), while Aguilera is rated fourth (120).
UP NEXT
Drake closes out a four-match homestand entertaining UTEP (University of Texas at El Paso) on Feb. 8 and Milwaukee and North Dakota on Feb. 9 at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. Match times are slated for 6:00 p.m., 12:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively.
