WHAT'S AHEAD
For the first time since the 2006 campaign, the Drake women's tennis team will renew acquaintances with in-state rival Iowa as the Bulldogs (3-3) travel to face the Hawkeyes on Saturday (Feb. 16).  Match time is slated for 11:00 a.m.

A LOOK BACK
Drake concluded its four-match homestand with a pair of victories in three matches last weekend at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.  The Bulldogs dropped a 4-3 decision versus UTEP last Friday (Feb. 8) before rebounding to register a pair of 4-3 wins on Saturday (Feb. 9) over Milwaukee and North Dakota.

On the strength of four unanswered singles victories, UTEP edged Drake, 4-3.

The Bulldogs secured wins at the Nos. 1 and 3 doubles positions to earn the doubles tally.  Clinching the point at No. 1 was the tandem of junior Klavdija Rebol (Kranj, Slovenia) and freshman Jordan Eggleston (LaQuinta, Calif.), 8-5.

Freshman Maddie Johnson (Onalaska, Wis.) stretched Drake's lead to 2-0 following a 6-0, 6-1 singles triumph at No. 6.  Freshman Evy Van Genechten (Antwerp, Belgium) pushed the Bulldogs to within a point of the win earning a 6-2, 6-0 decision at No. 5.

The Miners responded rolling off triumphs at the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 positions to even the affair at three.  The outcome then came down to the No. 3 court where Gabi Vazquez bested freshman Lea Kozulic (Varazdin, Croatia), 6-4, 6-4.

A three-set triumph by Van Genechten at the No. 3 singles position capped a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 victory for Drake over Milwaukee.

The Panthers propelled themselves to an early 1-0 advantage in the tilt with a sweep of doubles play.

In singles, the lead swelled to 2-0 in favor of Milwaukee before Johnson cut the deficit in half for the Bulldogs, earning a 6-1, 6-0 win at the No. 5 slot.  Kozulic evened the affair at two for Drake, besting Kelly Fritz on the No. 2 singles court, 6-3, 6-1.

The Panthers again retook the lead with a triumph at No. 1.

After dropping the initial set in her showdown with Dana Shannon at No. 4, sophomore Nell Boyd (Arlington Heights, Ill.) rallied to collect victories in the final two sets to register a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 win to knot the contest at three.

The outcome came down to the match at No. 3 where Van Genechten was battling Chelsea Bailey.   Van Genechten took the initial set, 7-5, before Bailey stormed back to take the second frame, 6-3.  In the final set, Van Genechten chiseled out a 6-1 victory to give the Bulldogs the match.

Completing a sweep of its two matches on the day, Drake registered a 4-3 victory over North Dakota.
Van Genechten got Drake on the board in singles at No. 3, netting a 6-0, 6-2 triumph.

Eggleston gave the Bulldogs the lead for good on the strength of a 6-0, 6-2 decision on court No. 5.

Sophomore Amanda Dick (Kenosha, Wis.) pushed Drake to within a point of victory at No. 6, 6-0, 6-3.

Registering the match-clinching point for the Bulldogs at the No. 2 position was Kozulic, who dispatched Callie Ronkowski, 6-4, 7-5.

IN OUR LAST ENCOUNTER
Iowa 7, Drake 0 (March 4, 2006)
DES MOINES, Iowa - Registering victories in all but one of the contested matches, Iowa netted a 7-0 triumph past Drake at the Drake Tennis Center.  The Bulldogs' lone victory came at No. 3 singles where Irina Kalashnikova and Eve Rusdianto posted an 8-2 triumph.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Drake returns four letterwinners from a squad that posted a school record in wins with a 22-7 ledger last spring, including a second-place showing in the Missouri Valley Conference.  The Bulldogs picked up where they left off a year ago in the fall, registering a 102-76 combined singles/doubles record.

Jordan Eggleston and Maddie Johnson lead Drake with 28-14 and 24-10 combined singles/doubles ledgers, respectively.  Eggleston has registered a team-best 15 singles victories, while matching Klavdija Rebol with a team-high 13 doubles triumphs.

The Bulldogs have also received combined double-digit victory totals from Evy Van Genechten, Nell Boyd, Rebol, freshman Mariel Ante (Riverside, Calif.), Lea Kozulic and senior Ali Patterson (Overland Park, Kan.) with 20, 19, 19, 17, 16 and 14 wins, respectively.

DRAKE HEAD COACH PAUL THOMSON
Paul Thomson is in his third season leading the Drake women's tennis program after serving five years (2005-10) as head men's and women's coach at Brevard College in Brevard, N.C.

Thomson led the Bulldogs to a 13-10 mark during his inaugural campaign, including a 4-3 third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference and Drake's first winning record since 2006.

During his rookie season guiding the Bulldogs, he mentored then freshman Klavdija Rebol, who became Drake's initial first team All-MVC performer since 2005, garnering all-league accolades at the No. 3 singles position.  Manca Krizman was also honored for her play on the court, being named to the All-Select squad by the MVC coaches.

Off the court, Gabriela Demos was honored for the second-consecutive year as a first team MVC Scholar-Athlete selection.

In 2012, Thomson led the Bulldogs to a record-setting 22-7 ledger, en route to a 5-2 second-place finish in the MVC.  The 22 victories established a school record for wins and allowed Drake to surpass the 20-victory plateau for only the second time in school history.

The Bulldogs captured their initial postseason triumph since 2006 when Drake advanced to the State Farm MVC Championship semifinals with a 4-1 victory over Northern Iowa.

Five players earned 20 or more singles wins, sparked by Krizman, who posted a team-best 31-5 singles record, which included a 25-match winning streak. Every Bulldog registered a winning singles' record, while all but one Drake player matched the feat in doubles, led by 27 wins courtesy of Demos.

Pulling in MVC All-Select team honors were Krizman and Rebol, while Demos was named to the All-MVC Scholar Athlete first team for the third-consecutive campaign.  Collecting honorable mention All-MVC Scholar-Athlete accolades was Krizman.

Drake's senior class of Amanda Aragon, Jessica Aguilera, Demos, Krizman and Earlynn Lauer made its mark on the Bulldogs' program.  Demos finished first in school history (since 2006-07) in combined career victories (139), while ranking third in school history (since 1990-91) in career doubles wins (74).  Krizman is third in school history (since 2006-07) in combined career victories (126), while Aguilera is rated fourth (120).

UP NEXT
Drake returns to the Roger Knapp Tennis Center to host Green Bay in a 10:00 a.m. tilt on Feb. 23 before a road match at Kansas on Feb. 24.  Match time against the Jayhawks is slated for 12:00 p.m.