TULSA, Okla. - In the finale of its weekend road swing, the Drake men's tennis team registered a 4-1 triumph over Southern Methodist University (1-2) on Monday (Jan. 20).
“Today was a great bounce back win for the boys,” Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski commented. “We felt we lacked the level of intensity we are accustomed to at Drake during our initial two matches of the season. We have several new players on the team this year and they are still learning what "Drake Tennis" is about. We talked to the team again after the loss to Tulsa last night and really tried to drive home what we expected out of each of them. They responded stronger today than I ever could have anticipated.”
The 30th-ranked Bulldogs (2-1) assumed a lead they didn't relinquish in the match capturing the doubles point with victories on the Nos. 1 and 3 courts, respectively.
Clinching the doubles tally for Drake was the eighth-ranked tandem of senior Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England) and junior Ravi Patel (London, England) with a 6-1 win past Arturs Kazijevs and Mischa Nowicki at No. 1.
Goodman pushed the Bulldogs' advantage to 2-0 in singles besting Nowicki on the No. 3 court, 6-0, 6-3.
Sophomore Ben Lott (Newcastle, England) pushed the margin to 3-0 in favor of Drake dispatching Alex Sanders at the No. 2 position, 6-1, 6-2.
The Mustangs captured their lone point in the affair at No. 6 where Arkidjas Slobodkins edged junior Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England), 6-0, 6-4.
Junior Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina) collected the match-clinching point for the Bulldogs at the No. 1 slot downing Kazijevs, 6-2, 6-2.
“If we come near the intensity we had today for the rest of the season, we will be a real force,” said Kozlowski. “I'm so proud of the team today as they have learned a lot in the past four days.”
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday (Jan. 25) with a 4:00 p.m. showdown versus No. 28 Auburn at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kick-off Weekend in Waco, Texas.
NO. 30 DRAKE (2-1) DEF. SMU (1-2), 4-1
JAN. 20, 2014 • TULSA, OKLA.
SINGLES:
No. 1 Alen Salibasic (DU) def. Arturs Kazijevs (SMU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 Ben Lott (DU) def. Alex Sanders (SMU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Robin Goodman (DU) def. Mischa Nowicki (SMU), 6-0, 6-3
No. 4 No. 123 Matt Frost (DU) leading Nate Lammons (SMU), 6-4, 5-0 unfinished
No. 5 Ravi Patel (DU) leading Julio Olaya (SMU), 6-3, 3-2
No. 6 Arkidjas Slobodkins (SMU) def. Ben Mullis (DU), 6-0, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3,2,6,1
DOUBLES:
No. 1 No. 8 Goodman/Patel (DU) def. Kazijevs/Nowicki (SMU), 6-1
No. 2 Lott/Salibasic (DU) leading Lammons/Sanders (SMU), 4-3 unfinished
No. 3 Frost/Mullis (DU) def. Olaya/Slobodkins (SMU), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3,1
