The Basics
After a weekend with no matches, the Bulldogs are set for two this week: at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday against Austin Peay in St. Louis and 1 p.m. on Saturday at Oral Roberts.
Bulldogs Breakdown
Drake is 5-8 on the year and 0-1 in the Summit League. The Bulldogs are on a two-game win streak after taking down Chicago State 7-0 and 5-0 in a doubleheader on Tuesday, Mar. 11 in Des Moines.
Aaron Dawson stood out in those matches, securing a 6-2, 6-0 win and a 6-0, 6-0 win.
Before the Chicago State matches, Drake opened Summit League play on Sunday, Mar. 2 against North Dakota. The Bulldogs couldn't pull out a win, but
Jose Alessandro Hernandez and
Will Ecklund secured singles victories. After losing the first set, Hernandez won the second and third sets over North Dakota senior Ange-Kevin Koua. Ecklund dominated in his match, winning 6-0, 6-2.
Scouting the Competition
Austin Peay is 4-6 on the year and 4-4 at home. The wins have come over Oakland City, Brescia University, Alabama A&M and Cumberland University. Austin Peay's last two matches, however, have been losses to Lipscomb and North Alabama.
Last time out against Lipscomb, the duo of Aeneas Schaub and Sota Minami competed on the top doubles court for Austin Peay. The team lost a tight tiebreaker match 5-7. A senior from Boves, Italy, Giovanni Becchis, battled on the top singles court against Lipscomb. The match went into three sets, and Becchis retired midway through the third set. Glen Arnet picked up the lone singles win on the fifth court (6-4, 6-4).
Drake and Austin Peay have never met in men's tennis.
After the match against Austin Peay, Drake will take on Oral Roberts on the road in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This will be the Bulldogs' second Summit League match, and they'll look to even their conference record at 1-1. The Golden Eagles — who finished last in the conference in 2024 and were picked to finish last in the 2025 preseason poll — are 5-11 overall and 0-2 in the Summit League. They're on a two-game losing streak after two losses by a score of 2-5 against Omaha and North Dakota.
Against North Dakota, Ricardo Filho and Parv Nage defeated Leandro Zgraggen and Koua 6-2 on the first doubles court; that same North Dakota duo took down
Ben Johnson and Ecklund 6-3. Filho represented the Fighting Hawks on the top singles court and lost to Zgraggen 4-6, 2-6. Zgraggen also won against Drake, defeating
Christian Winstead on the top singles court. Before the season, Filho was placed on the Summit League Preseason Athletes to Watch List, which also included Drake's Johnson.
Drake looks to maintain a perfect 7-0 all-time record over Oral Roberts.
Up Next
The Bulldogs continue Summit League play on Wednesday, Mar. 26 against Illinois State in Des Moines.
