DES MOINES, Iowa -- The 33rd-ranked Drake University men's tennis team is making its fifth consecutive and ninth overall NCAA Championship appearance traveling to Champaign, Ill., to battle No. 32 Louisville on Friday (May 8). Match time at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex is slated for 1 p.m.
A victory propels the Bulldogs into a showdown with the winner of the No. 4 Illinois/UW-Green Bay tilt on Saturday (May 9) at 3 p.m.
A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs enter the tournament with a 24-6 record for their fifth consecutive 20 or more win season. Drake recorded a 12-4 mark against nationally ranked teams and went 7-2 against teams from the Power Five Conferences.
Drake is currently on a six-match winnings streak. The Bulldogs last setback was on March 21 in the championship of the San Diego Spring Classic at No. 30 San Diego, 4-2.
The Bulldogs extended their regular season Missouri Valley Conference winning streak to 22 with their win over Southern Illinois (April 11). Since 2011, Drake is 29-1 overall against conference foes with the one loss occurring against Wichita State in the championship match of the 2013 MVC Championship on the Shockers' homecourt.
Since the 2007 season, the Bulldogs have registered a 45-2 regular season mark against league opponents en route to capturing regular season conference titles in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The Bulldogs have to individuals ranked in the top-125 in singles. Senior Alen Salibasic is tabbed No. 40, while junior Ben Lott is ranked 66th.
Salibasic leads the team with 24 singles wins and is 20-7 in dual match play. Lott holds the team's second most wins with 20, while Ravi Patel carries a 19-5 mark.
A LOOK AT LOUISVILLE
The Cardinals are ranked 32nd in the latest ITA rankings with a 23-8 record. Louisville went 7-5 in ACC play and has lost its last three matches. The Cardinals fell at No. 4 Virginia 6-1 (April 12) and to No. 8 Duke (April 27) 5-2 before dropping the ACC Tournament opener versus Clemson 4-3.
Louisville is 8-7 against nationally ranked teams with its best win of the season against No. 10 North Carolina, 5-2, on March 20.
The Cardinals have one of the best singles players in the country, Sebastian Stiefelmeyer, who will be the overall No. 5 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship. Stiefelmeyer leads the Cardinals with a 40-5 overall record in singles and a 22-2 mark in dual matches as team's No. 1 player.
NOTING UW-GREEN BAY
The Phoenix won the Horizon League regular and tournament championships, earning the league's automatic-berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Green Bay has a 18-7 record and is on a six-match winning streak. UWGB's last loss was at No. 29 Drake, 4-3, on March 27.
NOTING ILLINOIS
The Fighting Illini received the NCAA Tournament overall No. 4 seed after sweeping through the Big Ten Tournament and posting a 25-4 record. Illinois won all three of its Big Ten Tournament matches 4-0, topping it off with a sweep over No. 12 Ohio State.
Jared Hiltzik and Farris Gosea were selected to play in the NCAA singles tournament, while the pair of Tim Topinski and Ross Guignon were selected to appear in the doubles tournament.
Illinois has five singles players ranked in the top 70 with Jared Hiltzik leading the way at No. 23.
