GREENVILLE, N.C. ? Drake men's tennis coach Chase Hodges loves to say his guys got it done and for the 37th consecutive time in the regular season the Bulldogs did just that as the Blue and White registered a 4-0 victory over East Carolina on Friday (March 21).
The win propelled the Bulldogs to 15-0 on the campaign and in the process snapped the Pirate's seven-match winning streak to drop East Carolina to 12-7 overall.
“Our guys took care of business today and 37 in a row is very impressive,” Hodges said. “We look forward to our match tomorrow at UNC Wilmington.”
In preparations for Missouri Valley Conference play, matches in both singles and doubles were abandoned once the deciding point was secured.
The Bulldogs claimed the doubles point when the tandem of freshman Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) and junior Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand) registered an 8-2 triumph at the No. 3 position over Henrique Skalmerud and Matt Peeler.
Ballivian came through again in singles action as he clinched the victory for Drake at No. 4 singles, downing Skalmerud, 6-3, 6-4.
Mendoza added a 6-2, 6-0 decision at No. 6 against Peeler, while senior Dalibor Pavic (Adelaide, Australia) posted his 190th career victory with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Henrique Vaina at the top singles hole.
The Bulldogs close out their spring trip with a visit to Hodges' alma mater of North Carolina at Wilmington on Saturday (March 22) at 11:00 a.m.
No. 42 Drake def. East Carolina, 4-0
Greenville, N.C. ? March 21, 2008
Records: Drake (15-0), ECU (12-7)
Singles:
No. 1 No. 57 Dalibor Pavic (DU) def. Henrique Viana (ECU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Maor Zirkin (DU) led Stephen Whitwell (ECU), 6-2, 4-3 (DID NOT FINISH)
No. 3 Ricardo Lau (DU) led Aleksey Kochetov (ECU), 6-2, 3-2 (DID NOT FINISH)
No. 4 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Henrik Skalmerud (ECU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 Bokang Setshogo (DU) led Bryan Oakley (ECU), 6-2, 3-0 (DID NOT FINISH)
No. 6 Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Matt Peeler (ECU), 6-2, 6-0
Doubles:
No. 1 Pavic/Zirkin def. Skalmerud/Kochetov (ECU), 8-1
No. 2 Whitwell/Oakley (ECU) led Setshogo/Lau (DU), 6-5 (DID NOT FINISH)
No. 3 Ballivian/Mendoza (DU) def. Viana/Peeler (ECU), 8-2
