The Drake University men's tennis team suffered its first conference loss of the season with a 4-3 setback at Denver Saturday afternoon in a contest that came down to the final match.
 
Drake (14-13, 4-1 Summit) fell behind early in dropping the doubles point and facing a 3-0 deficit. However, the Bulldogs rallied back with successive wins at No. 4, 6 and 2 singles to tie the match at 3-3.
 
Calum MacGeoch started that run for the Bulldogs with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles over Pedro F. Del Valle followed by a 7-5, 6-3 win from Ben Clark at No. 6 singles. Tom Hands tied the match for Drake at No. 2 singles with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Mattia Ros. Unfortunately, Denver then sealed the match with a 7-6, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles to win the match.
 
The Bulldogs return to action next weekend with a doubleheader in the greater Chicago area April 6 starting with a Summit League match at Valparaiso followed by a match at DePaul.
 
 
Denver 4, Drake 3
3/30/2019 at Denver, Colo. (Denver Tennis Park)
Singles competition
1. Matt Summers (DEN) def. Vinny Gillespie (DU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Tom Hands (DU) def. Mattia Ros (DEN) 6-3, 7-5
3. James Davis (DEN) def. Bayo Philips (DU) 7-6, 6-3
4. Calum MacGeoch (DU) def. Pedro F. Del Valle (DEN) 6-3, 6-4
5. Daniel Krulig (DEN) def. Barny Thorold (DU) 6-1, 7-5
6. Ben Clark (DU) def. Ignatius Castelino (DEN) 7-5, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. Matt Summers/James Davis (DEN) def. Bayo Philips/Barny Thorold (DU) 6-3
2. Mattia Ros/Pedro F. Del Valle (DEN) def. Vinny Gillespie/Calum MacGeoch (DU) 6-4
3. Daniel Krulig/Eric Morris (DEN) def. Tom Hands/Ben Clark (DU) 6-2
 
Match Notes
Drake 14-13 (4-1)
Denver 7-7 (2-0)
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,1,4,6,2,3)
T-2:20