NORMAL, Ill. – The 46th-ranked Drake University men's tennis team dropped its final two regular season matches as the Bulldogs fell to Illinois State, 4-2, and Southern Illinois, 4-3, on Saturday in Normal, Ill.
 
Drake was down early against the Redbirds after dropping the doubles point with a 7-5 loss from sophomores Bayo Philips and Ben Wood and then a 7-6 setback from freshmen Tom Hands and Ben Clark. Sophomores Calum MacGeoch and Vinny Gillespie defeated their opponents 6-4 at the No. 2 spot.
 
Hands and MacGeoch each gave Drake an early lead with strong singles performances. Hands won 6-1,6-1 at the No. 5 spot while MacGeoch defeated Jakub Eisner 7-6 in the first set and dominating the second set with a 6-0 performance in the No. 2 spot. Despite the impressive first two wins Philips fell after a close 6-4, 7-6 match up in the No. 3 spot. Illinois State's Christoffer Greve defeated Stride 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to clinch the Redbirds win.
 
In the Bulldogs' second match of the day against the Salukis, Drake got out to a quick lead by winning the doubles point and then getting the first point in singles.
 
Hands continued his stellar performance with a dominating, 6-2, 6-1 win at the No. 4 spot to put Drake up 2-0. Southern Illinois evened the match with wins on courts three and five. After dropping the first set 7-5, Wood bounced back to win the next two sets, 6-3, 6-4, putting Drake ahead, 3-2. The Salukis completed the comeback with three-set wins on courts one and two.
 
The Bulldogs will head to the Missouri Valley Conference in Wichita, Kan. on Thursday, April 29 through Sunday, May 1.
 
Illinois State 4, #46 Drake 2
Apr 23, 2016 at 

 

Singles competition

1. Urh Krajnc Domiter (ILS) vs. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) 1-6, 6-3, unfinished

2. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Jakub Eisner (ILS) 7-6, 6-0

3. Rodrigo Oliveira (ILS) def. Philips, Bayo (DU) 6-4, 7-6

4. Christoffer Greve (ILS) def. Stride, Ben (DU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4

5. Hands, Tom (DU) def. Andreas Boers (ILS) 6-1, 6-1

6. Dylan Steffens (ILS) def. Clark, Ben (DU) 6-1, 6-4

 

Doubles competition

1. Jakub Eisner/Andreas Boers (ILS) def. Philips, Bayo/Wood, Ben (DU) 7-5

2. MacGeoch, Calum/Gillespie, Vinny (DU) def. Christoffer Greve/Dylan Steffens (ILS) 6-4

3. Rodrigo Oliveira/Rolando Torrellas (ILS) def. Hands, Tom/Clark, Ben (DU) 7-6

 
Southern Illinois 4, #46 Drake 4
Apr 23, 2016 at Normal, Ill. 

Singles competition

1. Rigby, Jonny (SIU) def. Lott, Ben (DU) 7-6, 5-7, 6-1

2. Baranski, Piotr (SIU) def. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

3. Pimentel, Wilder (SIU) def. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) 6-0, 7-5

4. Hands, Tom (DU) def. Molloy, Peter (SIU) 6-2, 6-1

5. Pozo, Alex (SIU) def. Stride, Ben (DU) 7-6, 6-4

6. Wood, Ben (DU) def. Martinez, Daniel (SIU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4

 

Doubles competition

1. Rigby, Jonny/Baranski, Piotr (SIU) vs. Wood, Ben/Philips, Bayo (DU) 5-6, unfinished

2. Lott, Ben/Stride, Ben (DU) def. Pimentel, Wilder/Pozo, Alex (SIU) 7-5

3. Gillespie, Vinny/MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Molloy, Peter/Martinez, Daniel (SIU) 7-5

 

Match Notes

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