The Basics
The Bulldog women will take on a familiar foe in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Drake travels roughly 40 minutes north to Ames, Iowa to take on the No. 11 seed Iowa State Cyclones on Friday, May 5 at 2 p.m. at Ames High School.
Drake men's tennis travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., to play No. 16 North Carolina in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 6.
How Drake Women's Tennis Got Here
First-year head coach Breaunna Addison takes the Bulldogs into the national tournament after securing the league's automatic berth with a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title two weeks ago. Drake upset the tournament hosts and regular season conference champion Illinois State for the trophy.
Drake is led by MVC Player of the Year
Ines Stephani at No. 1 singles and All-MVC true freshman
Oriana Parkins-Godwin at No. 5 singles. That tandem has been Drake's top doubles pairing as well, earning All-MVC honors at No. 2 doubles.
The Series vs. Iowa State
The Cyclones hold a 14-2 overall advantage in the all-time series with Drake including a 7-0 victory over the Bulldogs in Des Moines to start the 2023 spring season. Drake has not beaten Iowa State since winning back-to-back matches between 2013-15.
How Drake Men's Tennis Got Here
Drake defeated Denver, 4-1 in the Summit League Tournament final on April 22 after
Olle Sonesson Lidholt's clinching point.
The Bulldogs will make their 14th NCAA Tournament appearance including their eighth under the guidance of head coach
Davidson Kozlowski. Drake last won in the NCAA Tournament in 2015 against Louisville, 4-2.
Jeremy Schifris,
Matija Matic,
Reid Jarvis and
Oliver Johansson were all named All-Summit League performers in 2023 while
Evan Fragistas earned Summit League Honorable Mention status.
Similar to previous seasons, Drake assembled a tough non-conference schedule this season that included victories over the likes of Creighton, Marquette, DePaul, Wisconsin and Purdue.
The Series vs. North Carolina
The Bulldogs last played North Carolina on Jan. 27, 2018, when the Tar Heels won, 4-0.
UNC has earned NCAA Tournament bids 27 times under the leadership of 30th-year head coach Sam Paul. The Tar Heels are 17-8 overall and finished 9-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
What's Next
The winner of Drake and Iowa State will play either LSU or Wisconsin on Saturday, May 6 for the right to advance to the Round of 16.
The winner of Drake and North Carolina will play either Utah or Old Dominion on Sunday, May 7 for the right to advance to the Round of 16.
