DES MOINES – The Drake University men's tennis team split a pair of duals on Sunday at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. The Bulldogs fell to Middle Tennessee, 4-0, before rebounding for a 4-3 victory over DePaul.
Middle Tennessee claimed the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead.
Finley Hall/
Reid Jarvis fell at No. 2, 6-3, and
Matija Matic/
Freddie Powell lost at No. 3, 6-2. The pairing of
Oliver Johansson/
Barny Thorold went unfinished at No. 1 while facing the No. 20 ranked pairing in the nation, Pavel Motl and Stijn Slump. The Drake duo trailed 4-2 at the time of the stoppage.
The Raiders added to their lead with a 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Powell at No. 6. Powell played strongly at the beginning of both frames, being locked at 2-2 in the first set and taking the first game of the second set, before falling.
Drake's deficit grew to 3-0 when
Evan Fragistas lost at No. 3, 6-2, 6-4.
Thorold battled through a long first set at No. 2 where neither side could break the other's serve. With the match knotted at six games apiece, Thorold fell in the tiebreaker, 7-5. Middle Tennessee then claimed the second set, 6-3, to sweep the dual, 4-0.
After dropping his first set, 6-2, Johansson responded with a 7-5 victory in the second set. He led 2-1 in the third set when his match went unfinished. Hall (6-2, 6-7, 0-2) and Jarvis (5-7, 2-5) also went unfinished.
Drake came out strong against DePaul to take the doubles point. The Demons served first, but the Bulldogs broke their serve on all three courts to take 1-0 leads across the board. Fragistas/Hall took it home on Court 3, 6-3, and Jarvis/Matic finished off their foes, 6-4, shortly after. Johansson/Thorold led 5-4 when their match went unfinished.
In singles play, Matic earned a 6-2, 6-2 victory on Court 6 as Drake's advantage doubled to 2-0. Not long after, Jarvis collected a 6-2, 7-5 win on Court 5 as the Bulldogs' lead ballooned to 3-0.
Johansson dropped a closely contested match on Court 1, 6-4, 6-4, as DePaul clawed to within 3-1.
Hall had the answer for the Bulldogs, however, pulling out a 6-2, 7-6 victory on Court 4. Hall powered home an ace to seal the match and the dual for Drake.
Both sides played out the final two matches, with Thorold splitting the first two sets at No. 2, 4-6, 6-4, before falling in the 10-point tiebreaker. On Court 3, Fragistas lost in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
Drake (2-10) will look to keep its momentum rolling with two home duals next weekend against Michigan State and New Mexico.
Middle Tennessee 4, Drake 0
| Singles competition |
| 1. Oliver Johansson (DU) vs. Tom Moonen (MT) 2-6, 7-5, 2-1, unfinished |
| 2. Chris Edge (MT) def. Barny Thorold (DU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 |
| 3. Stijn Slump (MT) def. Evan Fragistas (DU) 6-2, 6-4 |
| 4. Finley Hall (DU) vs. Max Rauch (MT) 6-2, 6-7, 0-2, unfinished |
| 5. Reid Jarvis (DU) vs. Francisco Rocha (MT) 5-7, 2-5, unfinished |
| 6. Pavel Motl (MT) def. Freddie Powell (DU) 6-2, 6-1 |
| Match Notes |
| Middle Tennessee 10-2 |
| Drake 1-10 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,3,2) |
| T-2:12 A-51 |
Drake 4, DePaul 3
| Singles competition |
| 1. TONEJC, Vito (DEP) def. Oliver Johansson (DU) 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2. SPANJAARD, Boris (DEP) def. Barny Thorold (DU) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) |
| 3. CASATI, Christopher (DEP) def. Evan Fragistas (DU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| 4. Finley Hall (DU) def. TUFF, Tripp (DEP) 6-2, 7-6 |
| 5. Reid Jarvis (DU) def. WASSENAAR, Luuk (DEP) 6-2, 7-5 |
| 6. Matija Matic (DU) def. TONEJC, Fran (DEP) 6-2, 6-2 |
| Match Notes |
| DePaul 3-7 |
| Drake 2-10 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,5,1,4,2,3) |
| A-52 |
