DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's tennis team earned a pair of victories on Saturday at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center as the Bulldogs defeated Northern Illinois, 4-0, in the morning and edged out Western Michigan, 4-3, in the evening.
The Bulldogs began their day by taking the doubles point over the Huskies. Senior
Vinny Gillespie and sophomore
Barny Thorold defeated NIU's Eric Marbach and Kristopher Ortega, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles, while junior
Ben Clark and senior
Ben Wood secured the point with a 6-3 victory over Georg Lundkvist and Louis-Philppe Hamel at No. 2 doubles.
Gillespie blanked Bor Muzar, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles to put Drake up 2-0. Wood rolled past Hamel, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 singles, while Clark, who is ranked 124th in the nation, clinched the match with a 6-2, 7-6 win over Ortega at No. 4 singles.
In the nightcap, the Bulldogs pulled out to a 3-1 lead over Western Michigan. Drake swept the doubles point and then Gillespie and Hands won in straight at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively.
The Broncos managed to tie the match up at 3-3 with a pair of three-set win at No. 5 and No. 3, respectively.
The decisive match point came down to Clark and WMU's Lenhard Haupt at No. 4 singles. Hauplt took the first set 6-4, but Clark came back to force a third set with a gritty 7-5 second set win. The third set went back and forth, pushing it into a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Clark jumped out to a 5-2 lead and went on to take the tiebreaker 7-4, sealing the Bulldogs' 4-3 win.
Drake travels to Chapel Hill, N.C. on Saturday, Jan. 27 for the ITA Kickoff Weekend event and will open the two-day event against No. 3 North Carolina.
Drake 4, Northern Illinois 0
Jan 20, 2018 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Vinny Gillespie (DU) def. Bor Schweiger Muzar (NIU) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 2. Tom Hands (DU) vs. Eric Marbach (NIU) 7-6 (7-4), 3-2, unfinished |
| 3. Barny Thorold (DU) vs. Georg Lundkvist (NIU) 4-6, 4-4, unfinished |
| 4. #124 Ben Clark (DU) def. Kristopher Ortega (NIU) 6-2, 7-6 |
| 5. Ben Wood (DU) def. Louis-Philippe Hamel (NIU) 6-3, 6-1 |
| 6. Freddie Powell (DU) vs. Tom Hjertonsson (NIU) 7-5, 3-4, unfinished |
| Match Notes |
| Northern Illinois 0-1 |
| Drake 2-0 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,5,4) |
Drake 4, Western Michigan 3
Jan 20, 2018 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Vinny Gillespie (DU) def. Maik Steiner (WMU) 6-3, 6-4 |
| 2. Tom Hands (DU) def. Kennosuke Nouchi (WMU) 6-2, 6-4 |
| 3. Jannik Opitz (WMU) def. Barny Thorold (DU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) |
| 4. Ben Clark (DU) def. Lenhard Haupt (WMU) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) |
| 5. Eric Olivarez (WMU) def. Ben Wood (DU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 |
| 6. Matej Svjetlicic (WMU) def. Finley Hall (DU) 6-2, 6-4 |
| Match Notes |
| Western Michigan 3-1 |
| Drake 3-0 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,2,1,5,3,4) |
