IOWA CITY, Iowa - On the heels of attaining the
highest ranking in program history, the 27th-ranked Drake men's tennis team
captured a 5-2 victory in its in-state showdown at Iowa on Wednesday (Feb. 27).
The Bulldogs set the
stage for their 11th consecutive triumph earning wins in two of the three
doubles matches to secure the doubles tally. The victory also snapped the Hawkeyes' winning streak at
six.
The tandem of junior Robin
Goodman (Cambridge,
England) and sophomore Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England) opened doubles downing Juan
Estensorro and Joey White at No. 3, 8-4.
Garret Dunn and
Michael Swank followed for Iowa by registering an 8-6 decision past the 51st-rated duo
of seniors Anis Ghorbel (Sfax, Tunisia) and James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) on the No. 1 court.
Overcoming a 5-4
deficit en route to notching a 9-8 victory over Jonas Dierckx and Matt Hagan to earn the
doubles point for the Bulldogs at No. 2 was sophomore Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and
freshman Ben Lott
(Newcastle, England).
McKie extended
Drake's lead to 2-0 dispatching Hagan at the No. 1 singles slot, 6-4, 6-2.
Pushing the margin to
3-0 was senior Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia), who bested White at No. 6, 6-3, 6-4.
Dominic Patrick
garnered the initial tally for the Hawkeyes in the affair cutting Drake's lead to 3-1,
downing Lott at No. 5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
After collecting a
6-4 decision in his opening set versus Dunn on court No. 3, Salibasic came from behind in the second frame to notch a 7-6 (5) triumph to clinch
the match for the Bulldogs.
Dierckx bested
Goodman in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, at No. 2, to record Iowa's second point in
the tilt.
Mullis capped the win
total for Drake coming from behind to register a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory against
Patrick at the No. 5 position.
The Bulldogs travel
to Minneapolis, Minn., to battle No. 66 Minnesota on Friday (March 1). Match time is slated for 6:30 p.m.
NO. 27 DRAKE
(11-1) DEF. IOWA (6-2), 5-2
FEB. 27, 2013 •
IOWA CITY, IOWA
SINGLES:
No. 1 No. 96 James
McKie (DU) def. Matt Hagan (IOWA), 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 Jonas Dierckx
(IOWA) def. Robin Goodman (DU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
No. 3 No. 121 Alen
Salibasic (DU) def. Garret Dunn (IOWA), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
No. 4 Ben Mullis (DU)
def. Juan Estensorro (IOWA), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 Dominic Patrick
(IOWA) def. Ben Lott (DU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 Jean Erasmus
(DU) def. Joey White (IOWA), 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 1,6,5,3,2,4
DOUBLES:
No. 1 Dunn/Michael
Swank (IOWA) def. No. 51 Anis Ghorbel/McKie (DU), 8-6
No. 2 Lott/Salibasic
(DU) def. Dierckx/Hagan (IOWA), 9-8
No. 3 Goodman/Mullis
(DU) def. Estensorro/White (IOWA), 8-4
Order of finish: 3,1,2
