DES MOINES, Iowa - The No. 46 Drake University men's tennis team split a pair of matches Friday at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. The Bulldogs opened the day with a 6-1 loss to No. 15 Oregon before returning to the court to handily defeat Omaha, 6-1, in the nightcap.
 
The Bulldogs (8-4) held a 4-0 lead over Omaha and won the first five singles matches in straight sets before the Mavericks registered a win at No. 1 singles to claim a point. Drake opened the match with the doubles point and Vinny Gillespie and Barny Thorold won their match, 7-6, followed by a 6-3 win from Calum MacGeoch and Tom Hands.
 
Straight-set wins at No. 6 and No. 5 singles by Ben Clark and Finley Hall set up the clinching win by Barny Thorold at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-3.
 
Drake was unable to battle back from an early deficit to open the day against No. 15 Oregon as the Duck won the doubles point, followed by wins a Nos. 5, 1 and 6 singles to claim the match. Drake's lone point came from Tom Hands at No. 2 singles with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 win. Hands entered the match ranked No. 64 in the nation.
 
The Bulldogs full weekend at Roger Knapp Tennis Center continues Saturday with a pair of matches against North Dakota and Nebraska. The day begins against North Dakota at 1 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. match against Nebraska.  
 
#15 Oregon 6, #46 Drake 1
Feb 22, 2019 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #7 Thomas Laurent (ORE) def. #64 Vinny Gillespie (DU) 6-3, 6-1
2. #64 Tom Hands (DU) def. #78 Emmanuel Coste (ORE) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (6-0)
3. Ty Gentry (ORE) def. Barny Thorold (DU) 6-4, 6-7 (0-8), 10-3
4. Riki Oshima (ORE) def. Bayo Philips (DU) 7-6, 7-6
5. Joshua Charlton (ORE) def. Calum MacGeoch (DU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Charles Roberts (ORE) def. Finley Hall (DU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. Vinny Gillespie/Barny Thorold (DU) def. #41 Joshua Charlton/Thomas Laurent (ORE) 6-4
2. #43 Ty Gentry/Emmanuel Coste (ORE) def. Bayo Philips/Finley Hall (DU) 7-5
3. Charles Roberts/Riki Oshima (ORE) def. Calum MacGeoch/Tom Hands (DU) 7-6 (5-0)
 
Match Notes
Oregon 10-1; National ranking #15
Drake 7-4; National ranking #46
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,1,6,4,3,2)
 
 
#46 Drake 6, Omaha 1
Feb 22, 2019 at Des Moines, Iowa (Roger Knapp Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Abdoul Ouattara (OMAHA) def. Vinny Gillespie (DU) 7-6, 6-7, 10-6
2. Barny Thorold (DU) def. Davis Lawley (OMAHA) 6-4, 6-3
3. Bayo Philips (DU) def. Nathan Reekie (OMAHA) 6-4, 6-3
4. Calum MacGeoch (DU) def. Hugo Piles Ballester (OMAHA) 7-5, 6-2
5. Ben Clark (DU) def. Matt Dunn (OMAHA) 6-3, 6-3
6. Finley Hall (DU) def. Ethan Henry (OMAHA) 6-4, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. Vinny Gillespie/Barny Thorold (DU) def. Nathan Reekie/Davis Lawley (OMAHA) 6-2
2. Abdoul Ouattara/Matt Dunn (OMAHA) def. Bayo Philips/Finley Hall (DU) 7-6
3. Calum MacGeoch/Tom Hands (DU) def. Ethan Henry/Hugo Piles Ballester (OMAHA) 6-3
 
Match Notes
Omaha 2-8
Drake 8-4; National ranking #46
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,5,2,3,4,1)