WACO, Texas – The No. 40 Drake University men's tennis team earned a hard-fought, 4-2 win over No. 52 Miami in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Bulldogs advance to face No. 6 Baylor on Sunday at 3 p.m. with a berth to the ITA Indoor Team Championships on the line.
“This was an extremely tough match against a very talented and well coached team that head coach Mario Rincon has,” said Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski. “They gave us a great battle. We came out with the same intensity we did against Louisville, but they [Miami] never backed down and challenged us the entire match. Every court was a back-and-forth battle.”
Drake opened the match by claiming the doubles point with Ben Stride (Bognor Regis, England) and Bayo Philips (Houston, Texas) taking a 6-4 decision over Andrew Harrington/Alexander Fahnehjelm. Matt Frost (Cambridge, England) and Ravi Patel (London, England) locking up the doubles' point with a 7-5 win over Wilfredo Gonzalez/Christian Langmo.
Miami evened the match at 1-1 with victory at No. 6 singles as Niclas Genovese handed Philips a 6-2, 7-6, defeat. The Bulldogs reclaimed the lead at No. 5 with Stride earning a 7-5, 6-3, win over Bernard Tefel.
However, Miami once again tied the match with Tsukamoto defeating Matt Frost (Cambridge, England), 7-6, 7-5. Drake sealed the team win at Nos. 1 and 2 with Salibasic, ranked 46th nationally, defeating No. 56 Lomacki, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Lott, the No. 30 singles player in the nation then took the decisive match, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, against Wilfredo Gonzalez.
“Today's challenge against a tough Miami team will make us better and stronger, both mentally and physically, for tomorrow's match against great competition in No. 6 Baylor,” Kozlowski said. “We'll go in as underdogs tomorrow and play loose and play tough to try and pick up a win against a great team. We want to erase the memory of our last trip to Waco where we went 0-2 and hopefully pick up two wins this trip and advance to the ITA National Indoor Team Championships.”
Tennis Match Results
Miami vs Drake
Jan 24, 2015 at Waco, Texas
(Hurd Tennis Center)
#40 Drake 4, #52 Miami 2
Singles competition
1. #46 Salibasic, Alen (DU) def. #56 Piotr Lomacki (UM) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2. #30 Lott, Ben (DU) def. Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
3. Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) def. Frost, Matt (DU) 7-6, 7-5
4. Patel, Ravi (DU) vs. Christian Langmo (UM) 4-6, 6-4, 3-1, unfinished
5. Stride, Ben (DU) def. Bernard Tefel (UM) 7-5, 6-3
6. Niclas Genovese (UM) def. Philips, Bayo (DU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition
1. Henrique Tsukamoto/Piotr Lomacki (UM) def. Salibasic, Alen/Lott, Ben (DU) 6-4
2. Frost, Matt/Patel, Ravi (DU) def. Wilfredo Gonzalez/Christian Langmo (UM) 7-5
3. Stride, Ben/Philips, Bayo (DU) def. Andrew Harrington/Alexander Fahnehjelm (UM) 6-4
Match Notes:
Miami 1-2; National ranking #52
Drake 3-0; National ranking #40
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,5,3,1,2)
