TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 20 Drake men's tennis
captured a 7-0 victory over South Florida on Tuesday (March 19) to extend its
winning streak to 15 straight.
The Bulldogs were
thrust into a battle in the doubles competition as the Nos. 1 and 2 tilts came
down to the tiebreaker to decide the winner of both the match and the doubles
point.
The tandem of
freshman Ben Lott
(Newcastle, England) and senior James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) garnered the
clinching tally for the Blue and White for the second day in a row at No. 2, besting
Guillermo De Vilchez and Ravi Patel, 9-8 (4).
Drake refocused its
attention in singles and went on to sweep all six contests to earn the triumph.
Senior Anis
Ghorbel (Sfax,
Tunisia) provided the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage after registering a 7-6 (4), 6-4
win versus Oliver Pramming at the No. 1 position.
Extending the margin
to 3-0 at No. 3 was junior Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England), downing Fredrico Sabogal, 6-0,
6-1.
Sealing the victory
with the match-clinching point at No. 6 was sophomore Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England), who
dealt Evereth Dzib a 6-2, 6-1 setback.
The Bulldogs also
received wins at the Nos. 2, 4 and 5 positions, respectively, from McKie,
sophomore Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and senior Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia).
The Bulldogs now
travel to San Diego, Calif., to compete in the three-day Hilton San Diego
Mission Valley Spring Classic.
Drake opens play against Denver in a 12:00 p.m. contest on Thursday
(March 21). The match will mark
the second meeting between the two schools after the Bulldogs bested the
Pioneers on Jan. 27, 6-1, at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Malibu, Calif.
NO. 20 DRAKE
(15-1) DEF. SOUTH FLORIDA (6-7), 7-0
MARCH 19, 2013 •
TAMPA, FLA.
SINGLES:
No. 1 No. 50 Anis
Ghorbel (DU) def. Oliver Pramming (USF), 7-6 (4), 6-4
No. 2 No. 121 James
McKie (DU) def. Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (USF), 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 Robin Goodman
(DU) def. Fredrico Sabogal (USF), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 No. 125 Alen
Salibasic (DU) def. Guillermo De Vilchez (USF), 7-6 (3), 7-5
No. 5 Jean Erasmus
(DU) def. Ravi Patel (USF), 6-4, 5-7, 10-6
No. 6 Ben Mullis (DU)
def. Evereth Dzib (USF), 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 1,3,6,2,4,5
DOUBLES:
No. 1 No. 73
Gonzalez/Pramming (USF) def. Erasmus/Salibasic (DU), 9-8 (4)
No. 2 Ben Lott/McKie
(DU) def. De Vilchez/Patel (USF), 9-8 (4)
No. 3 Ghorbel/Goodman
(DU) def. Dzib/Sabogal (USF), 8-1
Order of finish: 3,1,2