DES MOINES, Iowa — Drake men's tennis extended its winning streak to 14 matches Tuesday evening with a 5–2 victory over Northwest Missouri State at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. The Bulldogs improved to 14–2 overall, while the Bearcats fell to 5–6.
Drake struck first in doubles play with a dominant performance at the No. 1 position. The team of Alan Gonzalez and Ben Johnson cruised to a 6–0 win over Dominik Wijntjes and Konstantin Feiel. The victory evened the duo's season record at 4–4 together. Northwest Missouri State responded with narrow tiebreak victories at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles to claim the opening point.
The Bulldogs bounced back in singles action, winning five of six matches to secure the comeback victory.
Jose Hernandez put Drake on the board quickly with a commanding 6–0, 6–0 win over Antonin Leborne at No. 5 singles. The straight-set victory improved Hernandez to 8–2 on the season.
Christian Winstead followed with a 6–3, 6–2 win at the top spot against Wijntjes, earning his fourth singles victory of the year and leveling the match at 2–2.
Ben Johnson extended the advantage with a 6–2, 6–4 victory over Feiel at No. 3 singles. Johnson improved to 7–3 in dual singles competition this spring.
Sam Melaga continued his dominant campaign at No. 4 singles, defeating Bernardo Henriques 6–2, 7–5. The win pushed Melaga's record to a team-best 11–0, maintaining his status as Drake's only undefeated regular singles starter this season.
Arin Menon clinched the match for the Bulldogs at No. 6 singles, battling to a 6–2, 7–6 (7–4) victory over Jules Subra. Menon improved to 11–1 on the year and has now won multiple clinching matches during Drake's current winning streak.
Northwest Missouri State earned its lone singles point at the No. 2 position.
"Northwest played really well in doubles," Drake head coach Justin Stuckey said. "I thought we did a really good job of bouncing back. Chris. Aless, and Ben really helped us get back on track quickly."
The victory marked Drake's 14th consecutive team win as the Bulldogs continued their strong run late into the spring season. During the streak, Drake has leaned heavily on its depth in the lower half of the singles lineup, where Melaga and Menon have combined for a 22–1 record.
Drake will return to action on the road Saturday, March 28, for a matchup against North Dakota in Grand Forks.
