The Basics
Drake women's tennis will honor their seniors against Belmont on Sunday, April 21 at 11 a.m. The match will occur in the Roger Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines, Iowa, and is the final match of the regular season for the Bulldogs.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
The Bulldogs have compiled an 8-11 record, and they've gone 4-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Drake has excelled in Des Moines, boasting a 4-2 when defending their home courts. Last weekend, the Bulldogs split home matches against two MVC opponents. Drake defeated Bradley 6-1 and lost to Illinois State 4-3.
Ines Stephani occupies the top singles spot for the Bulldogs. Stephani is 14-3 in singles play and has won two MVC Singles Player of the Week awards.
Mille Haagensen is also a force in singles competition for Drake. The junior from Norway has played to a 15-4 singles record in 2024. Last weekend, Stephani and Haagensen both won two singles contests.
The top doubles tandem for the Bulldogs is comprised of Stephani and
Rebecca Ehn. The duo is 8-5 on the year, and they earned MVC Doubles Players of the Week honors earlier in the season. The Bulldog duet played two close matches last weekend. They opened the weekend with a 7-5 victory over Kristin Hailey and Andra Sirbu but lost 7-5 against Illinois State's Tijana Zlatanovic and Lana Caculovia.
Scouting the Competition
The Belmont Bruins are heading into play this weekend with a 10-9 record. They have a match against Northern Iowa on Saturday before playing Drake on Sunday. Like the Bulldogs, they have performed well at home but struggled on the road. Drake will look to take advantage of the Bruins' 2-5 road record and win on the Bulldogs' senior day. Belmont came into the weekend on a two-game losing streak, losing their recent matches 5-2 against Murray State and UIC.
Mariia Hlahola competes in the top singles spot for Belmont, and she won 6-3, 7-5 in straight sets against Murray State last weekend. Hlahola and Vesa Gjinaj have both won 20 singles matches for the Bruins this season. Gjinaj competes in the number two singles spot for the Bruins. In doubles action, Hlahola teams up with Anastasiya Zholdakova in the number one spot. The Bruin tandem won against UIC but lost against Murray State in Belmont's recent contests.
Drake is 2-0 against Belmont in all-time play. The schools played for the first time in 2023 after Belmont joined the MVC, and the Bulldogs have defeated them 4-2 twice since then.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will head to St. Louis to play in the MVC Championship, beginning on Friday, April 26.
