SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The 20th-rated Drake men's tennis team opened its stay at the Hilton San Diego Mission Valley Spring Classic on Thursday (March 21) with a 4-0 victory over Denver to extend its winning streak to 16 in a row.
The showdown marked the second encounter between the two schools this season with the Bulldogs earlier besting the Pioneers on Jan. 27, 6-1, as part of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kickoff Weekend.
Each side registered a triumph in doubles before the No. 1 tandem of senior Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia) and sophomore Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) garnered the deciding tally on the strength of an 8-6 victory past Enej Bonin and Jens Vorkefeld.
Pushing the advantage to 2-0 in singles after a 6-4, 6-0 win at the No. 3 position was junior Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England), who bested Henry Craig.
Salibasic tacked on a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 4 over Max Krammer before Erasmus corralled the match-clinching point at No. 5, 6-3, 6-1 against Fabio Biasion.
Seniors Anis Ghorbel (Sfax, Tunisia) and James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) along with sophomore Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England) were all leading their respective matches at the Nos. 1, 2 and 6 slots, when Erasmus clinched the triumph for Drake.
The Bulldogs advance in the winners' bracket and will face No. 44 Memphis on Friday (March 22) at 12:00 p.m. CT.
NO. 20 DRAKE (16-1) DEF. DENVER (3-9), 4-0
MARCH 21, 2013 • SAN DIEGO, CALIF.
SINGLES:
No. 1 No. 50 Anis Ghorbel (DU) leading No. 62 Enej Bonin (DEN), 6-3, 5-3 unfinished
No. 2 No. 121 James McKie (DU) leading Jens Vorkefeld (DEN), 6-2, 2-6, 3-1 unfinished
No. 3 Robin Goodman (DU) def. Henry Craig (DEN), 6-4, 6-0
No. 4 No. 125 Alen Salibasic (DU) def. Max Krammer (DEN), 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 Jean Erasmus (DU) def. Fabio Biasion (DEN), 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 Ben Mullis (DU) leading Alex Clinkenbeard (DEN), 6-4, 0-3 unfinished
Order of finish: 3,4,5
DOUBLES:
No. 1 Erasmus/Salibasic (DU) def. Bonin/Vorkefeld (DEN), 8-6
No. 2 Ben Lott/McKie (DU) def. Biasion/Krammer (DEN), 8-2
No. 3 Craig/Luke Manley (DEN) def. Ghorbel/Goodman (DU), 8-5
Order of finish: 2,3,1
