MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The 39^th-ranked Drake University men's tennis team upset No. 23 Minnesota, 5-2, at the Baseline Tennis Center on Sunday.

The Bulldogs were just points away from earning the doubles point. The Gophers won No.1, while Drake's Tom Hands and Ben Stride defeated Felix Corwin and Justyn Levin 6-2 at No. 3. The final doubles match came down to a tiebreaker with Jeremy Lynn and Matic Spec winning the tiebreaker 7-4 over DU's Ben Lott and Calum MacGeoch to secure the point for the Gophers.

"Doubles was tough and Minnesota played more inspired than we did. Before singles I told the guys they had to play more inspired and have a deeper desire to compete," Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski said. "The boys came out in singles and completed to pullout out a hard fought win."

Drake didn't let losing the doubles point affect them in singles as freshman Vinny Gillespie cruised past Felix Corwin, 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 4 spot to even up the match at one. MacGeoch put together any impressive performance, winning 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 and put Drake up 2-1. The Gophers tied it up at two with a victory at No. 2, but Lott put the Bulldogs back on top with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1. Stride helped complete the upset with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 4, and Hands added a win at No. 6 for a final match score of 5-2.

The Bulldogs have a tough road trip ahead of them as they travel to No. 35 LSU on Feb. 19, Louisiana on Feb. 20 and No. 30 Tulane on Feb. 21.
 
#39 Drake 5, #23 Minnesota 2
Feb 14, 2016 at Minneapolis, Minn. (Baseline Tennis Center) 

Singles competition

1. #76 Lott, Ben (DU) def. Matic Spec (MINN) 6-3, 6-4

2. Ruben Weber (MINN) def. Philips, Bayo (DU) 6-4, 6-2

3. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) def. Felix Corwin (MINN) 6-3, 6-0

4. Stride, Ben (DU) def. Josip Krstanovic (MINN) 6-4, 6-4

5. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Marino Alpeza (MINN) 6-1, 6-2

6. Hands, Tom (DU) def. Jeremy Lynn (MINN) 0-6, 7-6 (7-5), 1-0 (10-8)

 

Doubles competition

1. Ruben Weber/Marino Alpeza (MINN) def. #51 Philips, Bayo/Gillespie, Vinny (DU) 6-2

2. Jeremy Lynn/Matic Spec (MINN) def. #50 MacGeoch, Calum/Lott, Ben (DU) 7-6 (7-4)

3. Hands, Tom/Stride, Ben (DU) def. Felix Corwin/Justyn Levin (MINN) 6-2

 

Match Notes

Drake 5-3; National ranking #39

Minnesota 3-5; National ranking #23

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,5,2,1,4,6)