WICHITA, Kan. – The 27th-ranked Drake men's tennis team knew it was in for a battle in the title match of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship on Sunday (April 28) and the showdown with Wichita State came down to the wire before the Shockers captured a 4-3 victory and the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth. 

The triumph ended the Bulldogs' two-year championship run and prevented Drake from establishing a new single-season record for wins in a season.

The Bulldogs will now await the NCAA Tournament selection show on Tuesday (April 30) at 4:00 p.m. on NCAA.com to see if their 2013 body of work earns Drake an at-large bid into the 64-team tournament field.

Wichita State jumped to an early 1-0 advantage after capturing triumphs at the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles spots to garner the doubles tally.

Senior James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) evened the affair at one in singles besting Ilija Cuic at No. 2, 6-1, 6-1.

Fellow senior Anis Ghorbel (Sfax, Tunisia) provided Drake its first lead of the afternoon on the strength of a 6-2, 7-5 win over Matheus Pereira on the No. 1 court.

Sophomore Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) claimed the first set in his showdown versus Tomislav Gregurovic at No. 4 before dropping the final two sets in a 6-3, 3-6, 5-7 setback that squared the tilt at two.

The Shockers claimed a come-from-behind three-set triumph on the No. 5 court to increase their lead to 3-2 as Erik Reyes bested senior Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Sophomore Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England) turned in a gritty effort at No. 6 to even the tilt at three after erasing a 6-5 third-set deficit to post a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory past Guillermo Nicol.

Tin Ostojic punched the Shockers' NCAA ticket when he netted a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win over junior Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England) on the No. 3 court.

WICHITA STATE (17-7) DEF. NO. 27 DRAKE (24-3), 4-3

APRIL 28, 2013 • WICHITA, KAN.

SINGLES:

No. 1 No. 63 Anis Ghorbel (DU) def. Matheus Pereira (WSU), 6-2, 7-5

No. 2 James McKie (DU) def. Ilija Cuic (WSU), 6-1, 6-1

No. 3 Tin Ostojic (WSU) def. No. 120 Robin Goodman (DU), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5

No. 4 Tomislav Gregurovic (WSU) def. Alen Salibasic (DU), 3-6, 6-3, 7-5

No. 5 Erick Reyes (WSU) def. Jean Erasmus (DU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1

No. 6 Ben Mullis (DU) def. Guillermo Nicol (WSU), 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3)

Order of finish: 2,1,4,5,6,3

DOUBLES:

No. 1 Ostojic/Pereira (WSU) def. Erasmus/Salibasic (DU), 8-5

No. 2 Cuic/Reyes (WSU) def. Ben Lott/McKie (DU), 8-5

No. 3 Gregurovic/Nicol (WSU) leading Ghorbel/Goodman (DU), 7-6 unfinished

Order of finish: 2,1