WACO, Texas – The No. 40 Drake University men's tennis team suffered its first dual match loss of the season as No. 6 Baylor prevailed, 4-0, in the final match of the ITA Kick-Off Sunday afternoon.
“We should be pleased with pushing the No. 6 team in the nation the way we did on their home court and having four three-set matches,” said Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski. “But our purpose and intent this weekend was to beat Miami and Baylor and advance to the ITA Team Indoor Championships.”
The Bears took an early lead by claiming the doubles point with a 6-0 win at No. 2 and a 6-3 victory at No. 3.
“Baylor had stellar doubles teams and took the lead 1-0 going into singles,” Kozlowski added. “But once again, we competed hard and did the right things to put us in position for an upset.”
Drake fell behind 2-0 in singles as No. 5 Julian Lenz of Baylor defeated Drake's No. 46 Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina), 6-1, 6-1, in No. 1 singles. At No. 5, Baylor added to its lead with No. 121 Felipe Rios rallying for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, win over Ben Stride (Bognor Regis, England).
“We took first sets on courts 3, 4, 5 and 6 and looked like we had the momentum to pull it off,” Kozlowski said. “Credit to Baylor for digging deep and turning some of those matches back in their favor.”
Baylor sealed the match at No. 2 singles with No. 26 Tony Lupieri defeating No. 30 Ben Lott (Newcastle, England), 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, to improve the Bears' record to 2-1 on the season while the Bulldogs fall to 3-1.
Drake returns home this week for a pair of matches at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center with the Bulldogs hosting Nebraska on Friday, Jan. 30, at 6 p.m. and Dartmouth on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 10 a.m.
Tennis Match Results
Drake vs Baylor
Jan 25, 2015 at Waco, Texas
(Hurd Tennis Center)
#6 Baylor 4, #40 Drake 0
Singles competition
1. #5 Julian Lenz (BU) def. #46 Salibasic, Alen (DU) 6-1, 6-1
2. #26 Tony Lupieri (BU) def. #30 Lott, Ben (DU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
3. Diego Galeano (BU) vs. Frost, Matt (DU) unfinished
4. Max Tchoutakian (BU) vs. Patel, Ravi (DU) unfinished
5. #121 Felipe Rios (BU) def. Stride, Ben (DU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. Juan Benitez (BU) vs. Philips, Bayo (DU) unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Tony Lupieri/Mate Zsiga (BU) vs. Salibasic, Alen/Lott, Ben (DU) unfinished
2. Diego Galeano/Julian Lenz (BU) def. Frost, Matt/Patel, Ravi (DU) 6-0
3. Vince Schneider/Felipe Rios (BU) def. Stride, Ben/Philips, Bayo (DU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Drake 3-1; National ranking #40
Baylor 2-1; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,5,2)
