The Basics
Drake men's tennis continues its road stretch on Wednesday, April 1, traveling to Normal, Ill., for a matchup against Illinois State Redbirds men's tennis. First serve is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., and fans can follow the match through the live scoring link available on the Drake men's tennis schedule page.
Bulldog Breakdown
Drake enters Wednesday's contest with a 14–3 overall record and will look to bounce back after a 4–3 loss at North Dakota on March 28, which snapped the Bulldogs' 14-match winning streak.
In the matchup with North Dakota, Drake dropped the doubles point after falling in all three matches, putting the Bulldogs in an early deficit. The pairing of Adan Tarquino and Ulysse Verrando, which entered the contest with a team-best 5–2 record, was defeated at the No. 1 position, while the duos of Alan Gonzalez/Ben Johnson and Alex Yeager/Arin Menon also fell in tightly contested matches.
Drake responded with three singles victories, highlighted by continued dominance in the middle and bottom of the lineup. Sam Melaga remained unbeaten on the season, improving to 12–0 with a straight-set win at No. 3 singles. Jose Hernandez added a 6–3, 6–4 victory at No. 5 to move to 9–2, while Arin Menon improved to 12–1 with a win at No. 6.
The Bulldogs have relied heavily on their depth throughout the spring. Melaga and Menon have combined for a 24–1 record in dual singles, providing consistency in the lower half of the lineup. Hernandez has also been a key contributor with nine wins, while Alan Gonzalez leads Drake's upper lineup with eight singles victories.
Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State Redbirds men's tennis enters the matchup with a 7–10 overall record and is coming off a 4–3 victory over Butler on March 27.
The Redbirds are led by head coach Mark Klysner, who is in his 11th season at the helm of the program. Klysner has guided Illinois State to sustained success, becoming the program's all-time wins leader with over 100 career victories while coaching multiple all-conference performers and two Summit League Players of the Year.
Before arriving at Illinois State, Klysner served as head coach at Youngstown State Penguins men's tennis, where he led the program to one of its most successful stretches in recent history. A former standout player himself, Klysner competed at South Carolina Aiken and later on the professional circuit, earning wins in international competition and even defeating future world No. 1 Andy Roddick during his junior career.
Up Next
Following Wednesday's match, Drake will return home to face Wichita State Shockers men's tennis on Saturday, April 4 at 12 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa.
