MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Senior Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia) posted a pair of singles victories to lead the Drake men's tennis team in qualifying-round action at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Regional on Thursday (Oct. 18).

On the strength of his two wins, Erasmus qualified for Friday's (Oct. 19) main draw joining seniors Anis Ghorbel (Sfax, Tunisia) and James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland), junior Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England) and sophomores Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England) and Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina) in competition.

Erasmus, the No. 2 seed in the draw, opened his day registering a 6-1, 6-1 triumph past Kevin Keiner of Bradley.  He then swung past Mitch Granger of Western Illinois, 6-1, 6-3.

Freshman Ben Lott (Newcastle, England) collected a 6-3, 6-2 win over Orhan Spahic of Southern Illinois, but was unable to join Erasmus in the main draw falling to Harry Warden of Oklahoma, 6-4, 6-4.

Senior Ryan Drake (Hilton Head, Island, S.C.) opened his day dispatching Brandon Meeker of Western Illinois, 8-2, before suffering a 6-2, 6-4 setback versus Nick Papac of Oklahoma.

Sophomore Grant Tesmer (Lincoln, Neb.) also won his first match, downing Chris Brunch of Western Illinois, 8-3, and then dropped a 7-6 (4), 6-1 decision against Minnesota's Ruben Weber.

Competition in the main draw in both singles and doubles swings into action on Friday (Oct. 19).

ITA CENTRAL REGIONAL

OCT. 18 • MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

SINGLES:

Ryan Drake (DU) def. Brandon Meeker (WIU), 8-2

Nick Papac (OKLA) def. Ryan Drake (DU), 6-2, 6-4

Ben Lott (DU) def. Orhan Spahic (SIU), 6-3, 6-2

Harry Warden (OKLA) def. Ben Lott (DU), 6-4, 6-4

Jean Erasmus (DU) def. Kevin Keiner (BU), 6-1, 6-1

Jean Erasmus (DU) def. Mitch Granger (WIU), 6-1, 6-3

Grant Tesmer (DU) def. Chris Brunch (WIU), 8-3

Ruben Weber (MINN) def. Grant Tesmer (DU), 7-6 (4), 6-1