DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's tennis team improved to 2-0 in The Summit League with a 7-0 win over South Dakota State and then the Bulldogs put together an impressive 6-1 victory over Iowa, Friday night at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
 
Drake's win over the Hawkeyes marked its seventh-straight against in-state rivals.
 
"This crowd we had tonight was definitely electrifying and brought these guys back up; as we played on a completely different level," said Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to an 1-0 lead over Iowa with another strong doubles performance. Juniors Tom Hands and Ben Clark cruised past Iowa's Joe Tyler and Jake Jacoby, 6-1, at No. 3. On court No. 1, junior Vinny Gillespie and sophomore Barny Thorold broke late to allow Thorold to serve out the match, 7-5, to secure the doubles point.
 
The crowd's energy helped Drake carry its momentum into singles as Gillespie, who is ranked No. 120 nationally in singles, put together an impressive 6-2, 6-1 victory over Josh Silverstein at No. 1 singles to give Drake a 2-0 lead.
 
The Bulldogs went up 3-0 with Hands' 6-1, 6-2 win over Piotr Smientana at No. 2 singles.
 
The Hawkeyes managed to get on the board with a win on court No. 5, before Drake's freshman Finley Hall clinched the Bulldog 4-1 victory with straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 over Willy Davies at No. 6 singles.
 
In the opening match of the day, Drake outmatched South Dakota as the Bulldogs swept the doubles point and took the first set on all six court in singles.
 
Clark blanked SDSU's Henrique Stemmer, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 3 singles, while Hands blew past Alex Reinke, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2. Hall clinched the Bulldog victory with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles.
 
Drake will have a quick turnaround as it hosts Arizona on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Drake 4, Iowa 1
Feb 09, 2018 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center) 

Singles competition

1. #120 Vinny Gillespie (DU) def. Josh Silverstein (IOWA) 6-2, 6-1

2. Tom Hands (DU) def. Piotr Smietana (IOWA) 6-1, 6-2

3. Barny Thorold (DU) def. Joe Tyler (IOWA) 7-6, 3-4, walkover

4. Ben Clark (DU) def. Kareem Allaf (IOWA) 6-7, 0-1, walkover

5. Jonas Larsen (IOWA) def. Ben Wood (DU) 6-2, 6-4

6. Finley Hall (DU) def. Will Davies (IOWA) 6-3, 6-4

 

Doubles competition

1. Vinny Gillespie/Barny Thorold (DU) def. Kareem Allaf/Jonas Larsen (IOWA) 7-5

2. Piotr Smietana/Will Davies (IOWA) def. Ben Wood/Finley Hall (DU) 6-2

3. Tom Hands/Ben Clark (DU) def. Joe Tyler/Jake Jacoby (IOWA) 6-1

 

Match Notes

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

 
Drake 7, South Dakota State 0
Feb 09, 2018 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center) 

Singles competition

1. #120 Vinny Gillespie (DU) def. Emerson Styles (SDSU) 6-3, 6-2

2. Tom Hands (DU) def. Alexander Reinke (SDSU) 6-1, 6-2

3. Ben Clark (DU) def. Henrique Stemmer (SDSU) 6-0, 6-0

4. Finley Hall (DU) def. Marco Paulo Castro (SDSU) 6-2, 6-1

5. Ben Wood (DU) def. Carlos Martinez (SDSU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3

6. Freddie Powell (DU) def. Elliot Ward (SDSU) 6-3, 6-4

 

Doubles competition

1. Ben Wood/Finley Hall (DU) def. Marco Paulo Castro/Elliot Ward (SDSU) 7-5

2. Vinny Gillespie/Ben Clark (DU) def. Emerson Styles/Alexander Reinke (SDSU) 6-0

3. Tom Hands/Freddie Powell (DU) def. Carlos Martinez/Aidan DeBoer (SDSU) 6-1

 

Match Notes

South Dakota State 0-5

Drake 5-4

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