The Basics
The Bulldogs will hit the road for three matches in Wisconsin this weekend. On Friday, they'll play against Marquette at 11 a.m. in Milwaukee, before heading to Madison to play Western Michigan at noon on Saturday and Wisconsin at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake is 2-2 on the year, with a spotless record at home and a winless one on the road, making this weekend an early season test for the team. The Bulldogs played three matches in their opening weekend from January 18 to 19, winning two and losing one. Last weekend, they traveled to Wichita, Kansas to play the Wichita State Shockers, where they suffered a shutout loss.
Ben Johnson has performed well for the Bulldogs this season. His singles record is 2-2, but his wins were straight-set victories, including a 6-0, 6-0 win in a match against Grand View. Last weekend against Wichita State, the Bulldog duo of
Adan Tarquino and
Jose Alessandro Hernandez secured the lone victory for Drake by a tally of 6-3.
Scouting the Competition
Marquette men's tennis is off to a rocky 0-3 start to the season. They dropped their opener 1-6 versus Western Michigan, lost to Summit League opponent Illinois State 3-4 and lost to the University of Illinois Chicago 2-5. They are coming off the heels of a 4-17 season which ended with a 0-4 loss in the Big East quarterfinals. Last time out against UIC, freshman Kristian Blagoev secured a straight-set win (6-1, 7-6) in the fourth singles position. Another name to watch is Blake Roegner, who competed in the top singles spot against UIC and won a set, but his match went unfinished. In the all-time matchup, Drake is 4-0 over Marquette.
Western Michigan is off to a hot start this year with a 5-2 record. They've secured wins over Grand Valley State, Ferris State, Marquette and Duquesne. Last season, the team finished 17-6, with this year's team on pace to replicate that success. Their 2024 season ended in the second round of the Mid-American Conference Championship with a 1-4 loss to Toledo. This year, part of their continued success has been the doubles tandem of Anton Arzhankin and Alex Antonopoulos. The duo won MAC Doubles Team of the Week on January 20 after a 3-0 weekend. The Bulldogs will look to stave off a hot Western Michigan team to increase their 9-2 all-time advantage.
The Bulldogs will finish the weekend competing against the 2-1 Wisconsin Badgers. Most recently, Wisconsin handed SMU its first loss of the year. The Badgers have already increased their win total from last year, as they went 1-22 against steep Big Ten competition. Freshman Edouard Aubert has been helpful in the team turnaround this season — he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week earlier this month after a 3-0 weekend. The Bulldogs will come into play against Wisconsin with a narrow 4-3 record over the team all-time.
Up Next
Drake will head back home to host Creighton on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. in the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.