DES MOINES, Iowa – The No. 46 Drake University men's tennis team opened up the 2015 portion of its schedule in convincing fashion with a 7-0 victory over Northern Illinois on Friday, Jan. 16, at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
“I'm very pleased with today's performance, both picking up seven wins and the overall attitude of the team,” said Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski. “We just went through a grueling two weeks of practice and they did excellent. We demanded that each of them make each other better and they did that today.”
Drake (1-0) jumped out to a quick lead by claiming the doubles point with Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Ben Lott (Newcastle, England) teaming up to defeat Kevin Daun and Matt Lynch, 6-4. Matt Frost (London, England) and Ravi Patel (London, England) then secured the point with a 6-1 win over Simon Formont and Frederic Cadieux.
The Bulldogs cruised through singles play by taking all six singles matches in straight sets. Salibasic, ranked No. 46 in the nation, defeated Cadieux at No. 1, 6-2, 6-1. At No. 2, Lott handled Formont, 6-3, 6-2, to get the No. 30 ranked player off to a quick start to his season.
The Bulldogs secured the victory at the No. 6 position as freshman Bayo Philips (Houston, Texas) made quick work of Carlos Manzanas, 6-1, 6-0, to give Drake a 4-0 lead in the match.
At No. 3, Frost outlasted Matt Lynch, 7-6, 6-1, in the longest match of the day while Patel handled Tom Hjertonsson, 6-0, 6-3, at No. 4. The No. 5 position saw Ben Stride (Bognor Regis, England) earn a 6-3, 6-3, win over Georg Lundkvist.
The Bulldogs return to action on Sunday for a noon (CST) match against No. 39 Louisville.
Northern Illinois vs Drake (Jan 16, 2015)
#46 Drake 7, Northern Illinois 0
Jan 16, 2015 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #46 Salibasic, Alen (DU) def. Cadieux, Frederic (NIU) 6-2, 6-1
2. #30 Lott, Ben (DU) def. Formont, Simon (NIU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Frost, Matt (DU) def. Lynch, Matt (NIU) 7-6, 6-1
4. Patel, Ravi (DU) def. Hjertonsson, Tom (NIU) 6-0, 6-3
5. Stride, Ben (DU) def. Lundkvist, Georg (NIU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Philips, Bayo (DU) def. Manzanas, Carlos (NIU) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
1. Salibasic, Alen/Lott, Ben (DU) def. Daun, Kevin/Lynch, Matt (NIU) 6-4
2. Frost, Matt/Patel, Ravi (DU) def. Formont, Simon/Cadieux, Frederic (NIU) 6-1
3. Stride, Ben/Philips, Bayo (DU) def. Lundkvist, Georg/Hamel, Louis-Philipp (NIU) 7-6
Match Notes
Northern Illinois 0-1, 0-0 MAC
Drake 1-0, 0-0 MVC; National ranking #46
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,2,6,4,5,3)
