DES MOINES, Iowa – The 44^th-ranked Drake University men's tennis team pulled off a thrilling 4-3 victory over Denver on Saturday afternoon at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

"With the big win over Purdue last night, I didn't want to have any hangovers. I wanted to put our mind set on this Denver team, because we knew that this Denver team has the potential to be a top-25 team," Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski said. "Denver was too tough to hand it to us and not fight. They fought and put themselves in position to win, but ultimately we were able to come out on top."

Ben Lott and Ben Wood defeated No. 20 Henry Craig and Alex Gasson, 6-4, at the No. 1 spot, while Calum MacGeoch and Ben Stride clinched the doubles point for Drake, winning 6-3 at No. 3.

The Bulldogs then jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead with MacGeoch cruising past Gasson, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 singles and freshman Tom Hands putting together a dominating performance at No. 6, beating Wyatt Lovera, 6-1, 6-1.

The Pioneers managed to tie it up at three with straight set wins on courts five and three and a three-set victory at No. 2.

The decisive match point came down to court one. Lott took the first set 6-4, but Craig managed to force a third set by breaking Lott to win the second set 7-5. 

"Trying to believe that I have the confidence in my shot making and that if the chances are there I am going to take them. And just believe that I can pull a win out," Lott said about his mentality going into the third set.

Lott bounced back from being broken to end the second set with a quick break in the final set and then went on the win the final three games to close out the match, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

The Bulldogs continue their eight-match homestand on Friday, March 4 when they host in-state rivals Iowa at 6 p.m.

#44 Drake 4, #40 Denver 3
Feb 27, 2016 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center) 

Singles competition

1. Lott, Ben (DU) def. Henry Craig (DEN) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3

2. Diogo Rocha (DEN) def. Philips, Bayo (DU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

3. David Fox (DEN) def. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) 6-4, 7-5

4. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Alex Gasson (DEN) 6-1, 6-0

5. Yannik James (DEN) def. Stride, Ben (DU) 6-3, 6-3

6. Hands, Tom (DU) def. Wyatt Lovera (DEN) 6-1, 6-1

 

Doubles competition

1. Lott, Ben/Wood, Ben (DU) def. #20 Henry Craig/Alex Gasson (DEN) 6-4

2. Philips, Bayo/Gillespie, Vinny (DU) vs. Yannik James/Diogo Rocha (DEN) 5-5, unfinished

3. MacGeoch, Calum/Stride, Ben (DU) def. David Fox/Jesse Ruder-Hook (DEN) 6-3

 

Match Notes

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