DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's tennis team beat Middle Tennessee, 4-3, and Nebraska-Omaha, 6-1, on Sunday at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
"Overall, picking up two wins is a successful day for us," Drake head coach
Davidson Kozlowski said. "We changed up our doubles pairs as we are trying to find the right combination and get everyone healthy."
The Blue Raiders came away with the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead in the Bulldogs first match of the day.
Drake's
Tom Hands erased MT's lead as he rolled past Max Rauch, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 singles.
MT's Tom Moonen gave the Blue Raiders the lead for the final time with is 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 2.
Junior
Ben Stride tied the match up 2-2, with his straight sets 6-4, 6-2 win over Miguel Negre at No. 3.
Sophomore
Vinny Gillespie improved his record to 5-0 as the Bulldogs' top singles player by beating Gonzalo Morell, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1.
Junior
Ben Wood and Nicolas Buitrago went three sets with Wood coming out on top, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, to clinch the match for Drake.
In the nightcap, the Bulldogs swept all three doubles matches, securing the doubles point.
The Bulldogs got on top of the Mavericks early in singles as Drake won the first set in five of the six matches.
Hands coasted past Matt Dunn, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4 singles to give Drake a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore
Ben Clark followed suit and rolled past John Ellis, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6.
Wood once again clinched the Drake victory with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Joni Heizlsperger at No. 5.
Gillespie earned his first win of the season over a nationally-ranked opponent with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 53 Razvan Grigorescu.
"Vinny had an excellent day and has been extremely dependable for us moving into the No. 1 positions this year as a sophomore," said Kozlowski.
The Bulldogs travel to Wisconsin on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.
Drake 4, Middle Tennessee 3
Feb. 12, 2017 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) def. Gonzalo Morell (MT) 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2. Tom Moonen (MT) def. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) 6-3, 6-2 |
| 3. Stride, Ben (DU) def. Miguel Negre (MT) 6-4, 6-2 |
| 4. Luis Morillo Diaz (MT) def. Thorold, Barnaby (DU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 1-0 (13-11) |
| 5. Hands, Tom (DU) def. Max Rauch (MT) 6-3, 6-1 |
| 6. Wood, Ben (DU) def. Nicolas Buitrago (MT) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Gillespie, Vinny/Stride, Ben (DU) def. Gonzalo Morell/Tom Moonen (MT) 6-1 |
| 2. Nicolas Buitrago/Max Rauch (MT) def. Thorold, Barnaby/Philips, Bayo (DU) 6-3 |
| 3. Gian Issa/Miguel Negre (MT) def. Hands, Tom/Wood, Ben (DU) 6-4 |
| Match Notes |
| Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,2,3,1,6,4) |
Drake 6, Omaha 1
Feb. 12, 2017 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. No. 78 Gillespie, Vinny (DU) def. No. 53 Razvan Grigorescu (OMAHA) 6-3, 6-3 |
| 2. Stride, Ben (DU) def. Colin Buckley (OMAHA) 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (11-9) |
| 3. Nathan Reekie (OMAHA) def. Thorold, Barnaby (DU) 0-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4) |
| 4. Hands, Tom (DU) def. Matt Dunn (OMAHA) 6-1, 6-0 |
| 5. Wood, Ben (DU) def. Joni Heizlsperger (OMAHA) 6-3, 6-2 |
| 6. Clark, Ben (DU) def. John Ellis (OMAHA) 6-1, 6-3 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Gillespie, Vinny/Stride, Ben (DU) def. Razvan Grigorescu/Colin Buckley (OMAHA) 6-3 |
| 2. Philips, Bayo/Thorold, Barnaby (DU) def. Nathan Reekie/Matt Dunn (OMAHA) 6-3 |
| 3. Hands, Tom/Clark, Ben (DU) def. John Ellis/Alex Woodward (OMAHA) 7-6 |
| Match Notes |
| Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,6,5,1,2,3) |
