DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake men's tennis team built momentum in its fall campaign with a strong showing at the Knapp Invite on Sept. 26-27. Competing on their home courts, the Bulldogs put together a series of impressive individual results against North Dakota, highlighted by junior Ben Johnson's undefeated run in both singles and doubles.

Johnson continued his standout fall season by pairing with freshman Alex Yeager for a 7-5 doubles victory over Cole Wilber and Walker Valentine of North Dakota. He followed that up with a dramatic singles win over Kotaro Matsumura, coming out on top in a third-set tiebreak (6-1, 2-6, 10-8). Johnson capped off the weekend with another dominant performance, defeating Valentine 7-5, 6-1 to remain unbeaten.

Drake's success extended beyond Johnson. Sophomore Jose Alessandro Hernandez delivered a strong straight-sets singles win over Valentine (6-4, 7-6 [5]), while freshman Arin Menon fought back for a 4-6, 6-1, 10-2 victory against Wilber. Senior Christian Winstead also contributed to the Bulldogs' effort with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Valentine.

In doubles, Winstead and sophomore Adan Tarquino added another highlight for Drake, taking down Matsumura and Wilber 6-2. Tarquino also earned a singles win of his own, defeating Wilber 7-5, 6-2.

The Bulldogs closed the tournament with a strong final round that featured several more singles victories. Junior Alan Gonzalez earned a straight sets win over Matsumura (6-4, 6-2), and Yeager picked up a solid 6-4, 7-5 victory against Christos Alex.

Drake will look to carry its momentum into the next stop on the fall schedule when the Bulldogs travel to Norman, Oklahoma, for the ITA Regional Championships, set for Oct. 8-12.