DES MOINES, Iowa – The 35^th-ranked Drake University men's tennis team have a tough three-day stretch ahead of them as the Bulldogs travels to No. 33 LSU (Friday), Louisiana (Saturday) and No. 27 Tulane (Sunday).
 
The Bulldogs are coming off an upset win over then-ranked No. 23 Minnesota. After dropping the doubles point, Drake went on to win five on the six singles matches to secure the 5-2 victory.
 
Sophomore Ben Stride earned his first career Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week award on Tuesday after clinching the upset for the Bulldogs.
 
In the latest ITA individual rankings, senior Ben Lott is ranked 76^th in singles and 50^th in doubles with Calum MacGeoch, while Vinny Gillespie and Bayo Philips are tabbed 51^st.
 
The LSU Tigers will be well rested when they host Drake on Friday as they last played on Jan. 31, falling to Rice 4-3. The Tigers are led by Jordan Daigle, who is ranked 44^th in singles, and is ranked 25^th in doubles with Boras Arias.
 
Louisiana are 5-4 and are coming off a 4-2 victory over No. 65 Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Wednesday. The Ragin' Cajuns have seen their consistent singles play from the No. 3 and No. 6 spots, recording a 6-1 and 8-0 record, respectively.
 
Tulane's last time on the court was at Dartmouth on Jan. 31, where the Green Wave fell to the Big Green, 4-3. Tulane will play Mississippi State prior to hosting the Bulldogs on Sunday. The Green Wave are led by the top singles player in the country, Dominik Koepfer. Koepfer won the National Indoor Intercollegiate Champion in November and holds a 16-2 record this season. Koepfer is also ranked No. 7 in doubles with Chi-Shan Jao.
 
The Bulldogs will return to the Roger Knapp Tennis Center on Feb. 26 when they host Purdue.