DES MOINES, Iowa – The 29th-ranked Drake University men's tennis team downed No. 75 Louisiana, 4-0, before blanking Illinois State, 7-0, on Sunday (March 1) at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
The Bulldogs improve to 13-3 and begin the Missouri Valley Conference season 1-0 with the rout over the Redbirds.
Salibasic, who is ranked 55th in the country, continued his strong play with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Lott, who is ranked 34th, followed Salibasic with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 2. The fourth and match clinching point came from Frost, who was down early in the first set but bounced back with a couple of breaks to win 6-4 and then sealed it by taking the second set 6-3.
Drake didn't give up a set against Illinois State and swept all three doubles matches.
In singles action, Salibasic was once again the first one off the court with a dominating 6-2, 6-2 victory. Lott followed suit with a 6-2, 6-2 win of his own. Patel rolled past ISU's Jacob Wilson, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3 to improve his dual record to a team-best 11-1. Frost broke Andreas Boers in the final game to secure the 6-4, 7-5 victory at No. 4, while Mullis at No. 6 and Ben Stride (Bognor Regis, England) at No. 5 posted straight set victories to compete the sweep.
The Bulldogs head to Minneapolis next weekend, as they will play No. 48 Washington on Saturday (March 7) at 4 p.m. and No. 33 Minnesota on Sunday (March 8) 12 p.m.
#29 Drake 4, #75 Louisiana 0
March 1, 2015 at Des Moines (Roger Knapp Tennis Center)
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Singles
1. #55 Salibasic, Alen (DU) def. Wynan, Jake (UL) 6-4, 6-3
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2. #34 Lott, Ben (DU) def. Lopez, Edgar (UL) 6-3, 6-4
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3. Patel, Ravi (DU) vs. Farinola, Damian (UL) 6-1, 4-5, unfinished
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4. Frost, Matt (DU) def. Kramarov, Vlad (UL) 6-4, 6-3
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5. Stride, Ben (DU) vs. Wynan, Jarred (UL) 6-7 (10-12), 5-2, unfinished
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6. Philips, Bayo (DU) vs. Wahlberg, Coleman (UL) 6-2, 4-6, unfinished
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Doubles
1. Lott, Ben/Philips, Bayo (DU) vs. Farinola, Damian/Lopez, Edgar (UL) 5-5, unfinished
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2. Frost, Matt/Patel, Ravi (DU) def. Wahlberg, Coleman/Wynan, Jarred (UL) 6-3
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3. Salibasic, Alen/Mullis, Ben (DU) def. Wynan, Jake/Huyton, Will (UL) 6-4
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Match Notes
Louisiana 6-6; National ranking #75
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Drake 12-3; National ranking #29
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Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,2,4)
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#29 Drake 7, Illinois State 0
March 1, 2015 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center)
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Singles
1. Salibasic, Alen (DU) def. Jakub Eisner (ILS) 6-2, 6-2
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2. Lott, Ben (DU) def. Urh Krajnc Domiter (ILS) 6-2, 6-2
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3. Patel, Ravi (DU) def. Jacob Wilson (ILS) 6-3, 6-1
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4. Frost, Matt (DU) def. Andreas Boers (ILS) 6-4, 7-5
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5. Stride, Ben (DU) def. Rolando Torrellas (ILS) 7-5, 6-4
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6. Mullis, Ben (DU) def. Christoffer Greve (ILS) 6-4, 6-
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Doubles
1. Lott, Ben/Philips, Bayo (DU) def. Jakub Eisner/Rolando Torrellas (ILS) 8-7 (7-4)
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2. Frost, Matt/Patel, Ravi (DU) def. Dylan Steffens/Christoffer Greve (ILS) 8-5
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3. Mullis, Ben/Salibasic, Alen (DU) def. Andreas Boers/Jacob Wilson (ILS) 8-1
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Match Notes
Illinois State 4-6, 0-1 MVC
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Drake 13-3, 1-0 MVC; National ranking #29
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Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,3,4,6,5)
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