The Basics
After a two-week break from matches, the Bulldogs return to action against Omaha for senior night at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center on Tuesday, April 8 at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs are 7-9 on the season and Omaha is 9-11 overall.
Bulldog Breakdown
Last time out, the Bulldogs dropped a match against Illinois State at home. After the loss, Drake fell to 1-2 in conference play and fourth in the conference. Drake went down 3-1 in the match and battled back to tie the contest at 3-3 before narrowly losing 4-3. Prior to the Illinois State match, the Bulldogs had won four matches in a row, including a come-from-behind conference victory over Oral Roberts.
After the Oral Roberts win and a doubleheader sweep over Chicago State in the same week, Drake took home both weekly conference awards.
Ben Johnson was the Summit League Peak Men's Tennis Player of the Week; he earned the award after going 2-0 in singles play throughout the week, including a win against Oral Roberts that clinched the match victory for Drake. It was Johnson's first time winning singles player of the week, although he's a two-time doubles team of the week awardee this season.
The other Bulldog weekly accolade went to the young duo of
Adan Tarquino (freshman) and
Aaron Dawson (sophomore). In doubles, the two took down their Oral Roberts opponents 6-2 to win Summit League Doubles Team of the Week.
Scouting the Competition
Omaha is 2-2 in Summit League play this season and sits third in the conference standings. The Mavericks, however, are on a two-game losing streak; they lost 4-3 against Air Force and 6-1 against Denver, the top team in the Summit League. The match against Drake is Omaha's final showdown before the Summit League championship in Denver, Colorado on April 18 and 19.
Senior Mikhail Korkunov from Russia competes on the top singles court for Omaha. He's 2-2 in Summit League play, with victories against Illinois State and Oral Roberts. Omaha's top doubles team consists of Korkunov and Bryan Kuntz; the duo won 6-3 in their last match against Denver.
Drake is 7-1 all-time against Omaha. The last time the Mavericks defeated the Bulldogs was in 2021.
Up Next
Drake will travel to Denver on Friday, April 11 for its final match of the season before the Summit League championship on April 18.
