DES MOINES, Iowa – The No. 41 Drake men's tennis travels to Madison, Wis. for a dual-match on Friday (Feb. 13) and Saturday (Feb. 14). The Bulldogs will battle the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday at 6 p.m., and then will square off against No. 29 North Carolina State at 12 p.m. on Saturday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
The Bulldogs went 1-1 last weekend as South Alabama handed Drake its second dual match loss of the season, winning 4-3; before the Bulldogs shutout Nebraska Omaha, 7-0, last Sunday. Ravi Patel (London, England) earned Missouri Valley Conference Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week honor, giving the Bulldogs the weekly award for the fourth consecutive week.
Ben Lott (Newcastle, England) is currently ranked No. 32 in the nation, while teammate Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzengovia) is ranked 54th in the singles rankings.
The Wisconsin Badgers enter Friday's dual on a two-match losing streak, falling to Notre Dame, 6-1, and Minnesota, 4-3, last weekend. UW's roster features five freshmen on its nine-man squad. The freshmen doubles team of Jose Carranza and Josef Dodridge are ranked 48th in the nation.
The 29th-ranked Wolfpack will be Drake's fifth ranked opponent this year. North Carolina State is on a three-match winning streak with its last victory coming at South Carolina, 4-3, on Feb. 8. The Wolfpack have a lot of depth on their roster with three ranked singles players as well as a ranked doubles team. NC State's lineup bolsters the No. 18 doubles team of Ian Dempster and Robbie Mudge, and also includes singles No. 56 Austin Powell, No. 121 Robbie Mudge and No. 124 Nick Horton.
Drake heads west next week as the Bulldogs travel to Denver on Friday, Feb. 27.
