The Basics
Drake women's tennis will head west for a mid-week back-to-back in the Golden State before starting Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend. The Bulldogs will visit Long Beach State (Mar. 18) and Cal State Fullerton (Mar. 19), and Belmont (Mar. 23) for their next three matches.
Bulldog Breakdown
Drake extended its winning streak to three matches with a double-header sweep of Chicago State before dropping a home tilt with Omaha last week. The Dogs took down Chicago State by scores of 7-0 and 4-0 before slipping up in a 5-2 decision to the Mavericks.
While the entire Bulldog team succeeded against Chicago State, first-year players
Shiori Takeda and
Jana Ruzic stood out in singles play. That Australian duo collected wins in their individual matches at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Another freshman,
Tess Caldicott, teamed up with
Elizabete Klavinska won at No. 1 in doubles action, but Drake could not muster any more scoring versus Omaha.
Scouting the Competition
Tuesday will mark the first-ever meeting between Long Beach State and Drake. Beach is currently 8-2 overall and 2-1 in Big West Conference play. Long Beach State has won its last seven matches dating back to Feb. 15 with its most recent win coming over Cal Poly on Mar. 8.
Cal State Fullerton, another Big West team, enters the week at 5-4 overall and 1-0 in their early league slate. The Titans will welcome Drake to town after Hosting Hawaii on Tuesday afternoon. Three of Fullerton's last four matches have been canceled with its most recent bout ending in a 4-0 win over Colorado State on Mar. 9. Wednesday will be the second all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Titans as Cal State Fullerton owns a 1-0 advantage in the series.
Drake will then visit Nashville for a date with Belmont to kick off MVC play on Sunday, Mar. 23. The Bruins will host UNI a day prior and look to improve upon their 1-11 record thus far. Belmont's lone win came in their spring season opener on Jan. 26 via 5-2 result over Tennessee State. The Bruins and Bulldogs are tied at two apiece in their all-time series with Belmont winning the two most recent meetings.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will remain on the road for their next two tests with trip to Bradley on Mar. 29 and Illinois State on Mar. 30.
