The Basics
The Bulldogs are returning home for a mid-week match against Illinois State after two road matches last week. Play begins at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 26 at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
Bulldog Breakdown
Drake is currently riding a four-game win streak, with recent victories over Chicago State, Austin Peay and Oral Roberts. Last week, the Bulldogs played Austin Peay at a neutral site in St. Louis, Missouri, and won 6-1. Then, Drake traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to play at Oral Roberts, where they secured a 4-3 win. The recent wins from Drake have improved the team's record to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in Summit League play.
Against Austin Peay, the Bulldogs had five singles winners.
Christian Winstead,
Ben Johnson,
Aaron Dawson and
Will Ecklund all won in straight sets, and
Jose Alessandro Hernandez won in three sets. The Bulldogs carried momentum from the Austin Peay victory into a tight win over Oral Roberts.
Drake went down 2-0 against the Golden Eagles after losing the doubles point and the first match in singles play. The team, however, rebounded with some clutch singles victories. Dawson, Ecklund and Hernandez all won in straight sets, and Johnson secured the Bulldog victory by pulling out a three-set win.
Scouting the Competition
The Illinois State Redbirds are 4-14 on the season and 0-1 in the Summit League. The last time Drake played the Redbirds was last April when the Bulldogs won 4-0 in Des Moines in the conference tournament. Illinois State is coming to Des Moines looking to snap a seven-game losing streak. Last time out, they opened conference play with a 5-2 loss at Omaha.
In the Omaha match, Tomas Valencia competed on the top singles court for Illinois State and lost in three sets. This is Valencia's third season with the Redbirds. Last year, he competed in the No. 4 spot and went 15-11 in singles. Valencia also makes up one-half of the Redbirds' top doubles duo, competing alongside Adrian Dibildox, who's also in his third year as a Redbird. The duo dropped their match against Omaha.
Drake men's tennis is 23-5 against Illinois State in matches dating back to 2004.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will host Omaha at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8 at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
