DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake men's tennis team entered its in-state showdown with No. 55 Iowa seeking to make a statement and the 65th-rated Bulldogs did just that registering a 7-0 victory over the Hawkeyes (5-2) on Wednesday (Feb. 26) at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

The Bulldogs (7-4) captured the early momentum in the affair garnering the doubles point on the strength of victories at the Nos. 1 and 3 positions.

Juniors Matt Frost (Cambridge, England) and Ravi Patel (London, England) struck first netting an 8-2 decision past Matt Hagan and Joey White on the No. 3 court.

Clinching the doubles tally with an 8-5 triumph over Brian Alden and Michael Swank at No. 1 was the tandem of senior Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England) and sophomore Ben Lott (Newcastle, England).

Junior Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England) opened singles play extending the Bulldogs' lead to 2-0, dispatching Swank on the No. 6 court, 6-1, 6-1.

Patel stretched the margin to 3-0 in Drake's favor netting a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 5 versus Dominic Patrick.

Clinching the match with a dramatic 7-6 (5), 6-2 triumph past Jonas Dierckx on the No. 1 court was junior Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina). Displaying a fighter's mentality in the opening set, Salibasic fell behind 5-2 before rallying to force and eventually win the tiebreaker, 7-5. He then took the second set to claim victory in the match.

Goodman followed with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Alden on court No. 3.

Drake also received victories at the Nos. 2 and 4 positions courtesy of Lott and Frost.

Frost edged Hagan at No. 4, 6-4, 6-1; before Lott capped the evening with a 6-2, 7-6 (0) win over Juan Estenssoro at No. 2.

Up next for the Bulldogs is a trip to Lincoln, Neb., to battle No. 51 Utah and No. 50 Nebraska on March 8 and 9, respectively.

NO. 65 DRAKE (7-4) DEF. NO. 55 IOWA (5-2), 7-0

FEB. 26, 2014 • ROGER KNAPP TENNIS CENTER

SINGLES:

No. 1 Alen Salibasic (DU) def. Jonas Dierckx (IOWA), 7-6 (5), 6-2

No. 2 Ben Lott (DU) def. Juan Estenssoro (IOWA), 6-2, 7-6 (0)

No. 3 Robin Goodman (DU) def. Brian Alden (IOWA), 6-3, 6-4

No. 4 Matt Frost (DU) def. Matt Hagan (IOWA), 6-4, 6-1

No. 5 Ravi Patel (DU) def. Dominic Patrick (IOWA), 6-3, 6-1

No. 6 Ben Mullis (DU) def. Michael Swank (IOWA), 6-1, 6-1

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

DOUBLES:

No. 1 Goodman/Lott (DU) def. Alden/Swank (IOWA), 8-5

No. 2 Mullis/Salibasic (DU) leading Dierckx/Estenssoro (IOWA), 7-4 unfinished

No. 3 Frost/Patel (DU) def. Hagan/Joey White (IOWA), 8-2

Order of Finish: 3,1