WHAT'S AHEAD
Drake opens a three-match weekend homestand this week welcoming Central Arkansas, Northern Illinois and Nebraska-Omaha to the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.  The Bulldogs entertain the Bears and Huskies on Saturday (March 2) before tangling with the Mavericks on Sunday (March 3).  Match times versus Central Arkansas and Northern Illinois are slated for 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively, while the showdown with UNO is set to begin at 1:30 p.m.

A LOOK BACK
Drake garnered a split of its weekend matches last week as the Bulldogs bested Green Bay, 7-0, at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center last Saturday (Feb. 23), before falling at Kansas, 5-2, on Sunday (Feb. 24).

Drake staked itself to an early 1-0 advantage against Kansas after posting victories at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions to claim the doubles tally.  Clinching the point with an 8-6 decision past Haley Fournier and Anastasija Trubica on the No. 2 court was the duo of freshmen Maddie Johnson (Onalaska, Wis.) and Lea Kozulic (Varazdin, Croatia).

Junior Klavdija Rebol (Kranj, Slovenia) opened singles play with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph at No. 1 to extend Drake's lead to 2-0.

The Jayhawks halted the Bulldogs' energy earning wins in the final five matches to account for the 5-2 decision.

Drake evened its ledger at 4-4 on the campaign after dispatching Green Bay, 7-0, last Saturday (Feb. 23) at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

The Bulldogs cultivated a 1-0 lead in the affair on the strength of a sweep of doubles action.  Securing the doubles tally for Drake was the tandem of senior Ali Patterson (Overland Park, Kan.) and Rebol, who bested Stephanie Londre and Rachael Menos at No. 3, 8-2.

Rebol pushed the margin to 2-0 in singles at No. 1, 6-2, 6-0.

Sophomore Nell Boyd (Arlington Heights, Ill.) extended Drake's lead to 3-0 after registering a 6-2, 6-1 decision at the No. 5 position.

Sophomore Amanda Dick (Kenosha, Wis.) gave the Bulldogs the victory at No. 6 following her team-leading third match-clinching point of the season, 6-2, 6-0.

Drake also received triumphs at the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 slots courtesy of Kozulic and fellow freshmen Jordan Eggleston (LaQuinta, Calif.) and Evy Van Genechten (Antwerp, Belgium).

IN OUR LAST ENCOUNTERS
Drake 5, Northern Illinois 2 (Jan. 28, 2012)
DES MOINES, Iowa - Drake opened its 2012 home campaign registering a 5-2 triumph over Northern Illinois at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

The Bulldogs gritted out the triumph in a contest that featured four of the six singles contests going to a deciding third set.

Drake stole the early momentum in the match sweeping the doubles competition.  The tandem of Gabriela Demos and Manca Krizman clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 decision at the No. 1 position.

The advantage swelled to 3-0 in the Bulldogs' favor after singles victories at the Nos. 2 and 6 positions courtesy of Krizman and Jessica Aguilera.

The Huskies cracked the scoring column with a win at the No. 5 slot to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Fighting through adversity en route to garnering the deciding tally, Demos posted a dramatic 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 triumph at the No. 3 position.

Klavdija Rebol put an exclamation point on Drake's triumph with a come-from-behind 6-7, 7-4, 7-6 (3) victory at the top singles slot.

Drake 5, Nebraska-Omaha 2 (March 10, 2012)
DES MOINES, Iowa - Equaling its win total for all of the 2011 campaign, Drake netted its 13th victory of the season downing Nebraska-Omaha, 5-2, at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

The Bulldogs and Mavericks split decisions at the Nos. 1 and 3 doubles positions, setting the stage for Amanda Aragon and Nell Boyd to secure the doubles tally at No. 2, 8-5.

Extending her singles win streak to 18 at No. 2 was Manca Krizman, who downed Kelsie Olson, 6-0, 6-1.  Bringing Drake to within a point of victory with a 6-1, 6-0 decision at the No. 4 slot was Aragon.

Sealing the match for the Bulldogs at No. 3 was Boyd, 6-2, 6-0.  Rounding out the victory total for Drake was Amanda Dick, who bettered Caitlin Christy at No. 6, 6-2, 6-4.

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.

Freshmen Jordan Eggleston and Maddie Johnson lead Drake with 31-17 and 26-12 combined singles/doubles ledgers, respectively.  Eggleston has registered a team-best 16 singles victories, while matching junior Klavdija Rebol with a team-high 15 doubles triumphs.

The Bulldogs also have received combined double-digit victory totals from Rebol, Evy Van Genechten, Nell Boyd, Rebol, Lea Kozulic, freshman Mariel Ante (Riverside, Calif.) and senior Ali Patterson with 23, 21, 21, 19, 17 and 15 wins, respectively.

HOME COOKING
The Bulldogs own a 24-6 mark in the Roger Knapp Tennis Center under head coach Paul Thomson.

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
An in-state showdown at Iowa State looms for the Bulldogs on March 8.  Match time is slated for 6:00 p.m.