CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After dropping the doubles point and enduring two rain delays, the No. 33 Drake University men's tennis team prevailed to beat No. 32 Louisville 4-2 on Friday at the Atkin Tennis Center, giving the Bulldogs their second NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Both teams came out with intensity as Louisville narrowly edged out Drake, winning No. 2 doubles, 8-7, and No. 1, 8-6, to claim the doubles point. Drake's No. 3 doubles, seniors Matt Frost (Cambridge, England) and Ravi Patel (London, England) came back from being down two breaks to force a tiebreaker before the match went unfinished.
"Losing the doubles point was tough. When you go up against a team as strong as Louisville, you want to get every single point out there," said Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski.
The Cardinals continued their momentum from the doubles into the singles as they took leads in the first set of four of six courts before the first rain delay.
The delay lasted for nearly an hour, giving the Bulldogs time to refocus and regroup.
"Louisville got off to a great start in singles. We were very fortunate and benefited greatly from the rain delay," noted Kozlowski. "Danny (Manlow) and I did our best to get the guys as fired up as we could during that rain delay, and when we got back it was like it was a completely new match."
With a one set lead and up 1-0 in the second, Patel cruised to a straight-sets victory, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4 singles to tie the match up at one.
"Ravi has always been a rock solid guy for us. He plays very well within himself and it takes an awfully good competitor to beat him," said Kozlowski.
Just minutes before the second rain delay, senior Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina), who is ranked 40th nationally, completed a dominating, 6-1, 6-2, performance over No. 5 Seb Stiefelmeyer, putting the Bulldogs up 2-1. When the Bulldogs and Cardinals met in the regular season, Stiefelmeyer, who was ranked No. 1 at the time, bested Salibasic in three sets.
"Alen's effort today was by far the most complete match his has played since I have coached him," said Kozlowski. "Right from the start of the match, the kind of look in his eyes was a look that you knew he had everything locked in and he was going to make everything that had planned in his head a reality."
The rain rolled in for good, forcing the match to be moved indoors.
Soon after returning to play inside, Louisville knotted the score at 2-2 with a victory at No. 6.
The Bulldogs pulled ahead 3-2 when senior Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England) overcame from being down a set to win the final two sets 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5.
Junior Ben Lott (Newcastle, England), who is ranked 66th nationally, secured the Bulldogs second NCAA Tournament win school history with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 2.
The Bulldogs' first NCAA tournament win was in 2013 over TCU in Los Angeles, Calif.
Drake improves to 25-6 and will play No. 4 Illinois in the second round on Saturday. The match is set to start at 3 p.m.
#33 Drake 4, #32 Louisville 2
May 08, 2015 at Urbana, Ill. (Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex)
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Singles
1. #40 Salibasic, Alen (DU) def. #5 Seb Stiefelmeyer (LOU) 6-1, 6-2
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2. #66 Lott, Ben (DU) def. Alex Gornet (LOU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
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3. #91 Albert Wagner (LOU) vs. Frost, Matt (DU) 5-7, 6-3, 3-5, unfinished
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4. Patel, Ravi (DU) def. Chris Simich (LOU) 6-3, 6-1
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5. Mullis, Ben (DU) def. Van Damrongsri (LOU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
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6. Michael Lippens (LOU) def. Stride, Ben (DU) 6-2, 7-6
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Match Notes
Drake 25-6; National ranking #33
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Louisville 23-9; National ranking #32
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Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,1,6,5,2)
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Official: Doug Rice
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