DES MOINES, Iowa — Drake men's tennis continued its strong run of form Friday afternoon with a 7-0 sweep of the Chicago State Cougars at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. The Bulldogs improved to 7-2 overall, while Chicago State fell to 1-7.

Drake secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2. Ulysse Verrando and Adan Tarquino set the tone with a 6-1 victory over Joao Teixeira and Justin Atkins on court one. Alan Gonzalez and Benjamin Johnson followed with a commanding 6-0 win at No. 2 doubles against Chad Valdes and Andrew Kunaka to clinch the point. The No. 3 doubles match was left unfinished with Drake leading 4-1.

"It was a complete day for the guys," said Drake head coach Justin Stuckey. "Chicago State is a well-coached team, and they really fought hard on every court. We got on the board early with Ulysse and Adan for doubles, and that really helped our momentum keep going into the singles. We still have some things we need to work on and keep improving on but overall it was a good job today from the guys."

The Bulldogs carried that momentum into singles play, winning all six matches in straight or super-tiebreak fashion.

Samuel Melaga was first off the court at No. 5 singles with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 performance over Reed Gahagan. Benjamin Johnson followed with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 3, and Arin Menon added a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 6.

Jose Alessandro Hernandez Frias earned a 6-3, 6-4 decision at No. 4, while Gonzalez picked up a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles.

Christian Winstead capped the afternoon at the top spot, battling to a 3-6, 6-1, 10-5 super-tiebreak victory over Yurii Hoida to complete the 7-0 sweep.

Drake will return to action Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. when the Bulldogs host the Saint Louis Billikens at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.