SAN DIEGO, Calif. – On the strength of a 4-1 victory over No. 44 Memphis on Friday (March 22), the 20th-ranked Drake men's tennis team advanced to Saturday's (March 23) championship match of the Hilton San Diego Mission Valley Spring Classic with its 17th-straight win.
The doubles point in the affair came down to the tiebreaker on the top court, where the Drake tandem of senior Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia) and sophomore Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) fought off match point en route to securing a 9-8 (7) triumph over Cedric de Zutter and Connor Glennon.
The Bulldogs opened singles with a pair of triumphs at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions to extend their lead to 3-0.
Senior James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) struck first with a 6-2, 6-2 win over 105th-rated Joe Salisbury on the No. 2 court.
Junior Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England) stretched the margin to 3-0 in Drake's favor after registering his team-leading 30th singles win of the season. Goodman bested 111th-ranked Lukas Vrnak at No. 3, 6-1, 6-2.
The Tigers got on the scorecard at the No. 4 slot after Johnny Grimal denied Salibasic his 30th singles victory of the year, with a 6-3, 6-3 decision.
Senior Anis Ghorbel (Sfax, Tunisia) sent the Bulldogs into the tournament's title match after dispatching Glennon at No. 1, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Drake goes in search of the tournament crown when it battles No. 23 Harvard on Saturday (March 23) at 4:00 p.m. CT.
NO. 20 DRAKE (17-1) DEF. NO. 44 MEMPHIS (6-5), 4-1
MARCH 22, 2013 • SAN DIEGO, CALIF.
SINGLES:
No. 1 No. 50 Anis Ghorbel (DU) def. Connor Glennon (MEM), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
No. 2 No. 121 James McKie (DU) def. No. 105 Joe Salisbury (MEM), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Robin Goodman (DU) def. No. 111 Lukas Vrnak (MEM), 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Johnny Grimal (MEM) def. No. 125 Alen Salibasic (DU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 Jean Erasmus (DU) leading David O'Hare (MEM), 7-6 (4), 5-5 unfinished
No. 6 David O'Leary (MEM) leading Ben Mullis (DU), 7-5, 1-2 unfinished
Order of finish: 2,3,4,1
DOUBLES:
No. 1 Erasmus/Salibasic (DU) def. Cedric de Zutter/Glennon (MEM), 9-8 (7)
No. 2 O'Hare/Salisbury (MEM) def. Ben Lott/McKie (DU), 8-2
No. 3 Ghorbel/Goodman (DU) def. Grimal/O'Leary (MEM), 8-1
Order of finish: 3,2,1
