LAFAYETTE, La. – The 35
th-ranked Drake University men's tennis team rebounded from Friday's setback to defeat Louisiana, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Cajun Courts.
"Lafayette is always a tough to play with an intense crowd and a well-coached team," Drake head coach
Davidson Kozlowski said. "Louisiana came out firing and really took the match to us. Things did not look too promising for the first hour and a half of play. But our boys did a good job of keeping their spirits high and competed very hard to earn the win."
The Ragin' Cajuns jumped out to a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point with victories on court one and two.
The Bulldogs didn't let the doubles defeat affect their singles play as they went on to win four consecutive singles match to secure the 4-1 victory. Freshman
Tom Hands put together a 6-5, 6-3 win at the No. 5 spot, while sophomore
Calum MacGeoch won a first set tiebreaker 7-2 before dominating the second set 6-1 at No. 4 to give Drake a 2-1 advantage. Sophomore
Bayo Philips made his debut at the No. 1 spot and used a pair of tiebreaker victories to put the Bulldogs a point away. Senior
Ben Lott overcame dropping the first set to cruise to a three-set win, taking the final two sets 6-2, 6-1.
"We will now shift our focus on to recovering and preparing for No. 27 Tulane," Kozlowski said.
The Bulldogs close out their trip to Louisiana on Sunday with a match at No. 27 Tulane.
#35 Drake 4, Louisiana 1Feb 20, 2016 at Lafayette, La.
| Singles competition |
| 1. Philips, Bayo (DU) def. Jake Wynan (UL) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-1) |
| 2. Lott, Ben (DU) def. Arthur Libaud (UL) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 |
| 3. Edgar Lopez (UL) vs. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) unfinished |
| 4. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Michael Kritzinger (UL) 7-6 (6-2), 6-1 |
| 5. Eric Perez (UL) vs. Stride, Ben (DU) unfinished |
| 6. Hands, Tom (DU) def. Will Huyton (UL) 6-5, 6-3 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Jake Wynan/Coleman Wahlborg (UL) def. Gillespie, Vinny/Philips, Bayo (DU) 6-4 |
| 2. Eric Perez/Edgar Lopez (UL) def. Lott, Ben/MacGeoch, Calum (DU) 6-2 |
| 3. Arthur Libaud/Will Huyton (UL) vs. Clark, Ben/Wood, Ben (DU) unfinished |
