DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake women's tennis team notched its first victory of the spring on Saturday (Feb. 1) on the strength of a 7-0 triumph past North Dakota (0-3) at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
"We competed really well today and just took care of us," Drake head coach Sadhaf Pervez commented. "The girls had a great week of practice and I am so happy that everything we worked on at practice came out today. I'm especially proud of Klavdija (Rebol) being down two match points and staying positive towards getting the job done."
The Bulldogs (1-1) assumed a lead they didn't relinquish in the match after registering victories at the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles positions. Clinching the point for Drake at No. 1 was the tandem of sophomores Mariel Ante (Riverside, Calif.) and Lea Kozulic (Varazdin, Croatia) with a 6-1 triumph past Callie Ronkowski and Lacey Sprinkel.
Sophomore Jordan Eggleston (LaQuinta, Calif.) extended the Bulldogs' advantage to 2-0 in singles besting Mikaela Bennet at No. 6, 6-1, 6-0.
Sophomore Maddie Johnson (Onalaska, Wis.) gave Drake a 3-0 lead after downing Sprinkel on the No. 3 court, 6-0, 6-2.
Clinching the match and the first-ever coaching victory for Pervez was Kozulic, who dispatched Faith Lee at the No. 5 position, 6-0, 6-2.
The Bulldogs also garnered victories from senior Klavdija Rebol (Kranj, Slovenia), Ante and junior Nell Boyd (Arlington Heights, Ill.) at the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 slots, respectively.
Drake returns to action on Friday (Feb. 7) with a 1:00 p.m. match at UMKC.
DRAKE (1-1) DEF. NORTH DAKOTA (0-3), 7-0
FEB. 1, 2014 • ROGER KNAPP TENNIS CENTER
SINGLES:
No. 1 Klavdija Rebol (DU) def. Stephanie Petsis (UND), 6-4, 5-7, 11-9
No. 2 Mariel Ante (DU) def. Callie Ronkowski (UND), 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 No. 118 Maddie Johnson (DU) def. Lacey Sprinkel (UND), 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 Nell Boyd (DU) def. Stephanie Biehn (UND), 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 Lea Kozulic (DU) def. Faith Lee (UND), 6-0, 6-2
No. 6 Jordan Eggleston (DU) def. Mikaela Bennet (UND), 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6,3,5,4,2,1
DOUBLES:
No. 1 Ante/Kozulic (DU) def. Ronkowski/Sprinkel (UND), 6-1
No. 2 Boyd/Eggleston (DU) def. Biehn/Lee (UND), 6-1
No. 3 Johnson/Rebol (DU) leading. Bennet/Petsis (UND), 5-2 unfinished
Order of Finish: 2,1
