NORMAL, Ill. – The Drake men's tennis team advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship match for the fourth consecutive year after the Bulldogs registered a 4-0 triumph past Illinois State in the tournament semifinals on Saturday (April 26).
Drake move into the title tilt to battle second-seeded Wichita State in a 10:00 a.m. showdown on Sunday (April 27).
“I'm very pleased with the way we came out and quickly took control of all three doubles courts,” Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski commented. “We played here two weeks ago and Illinois State gave us a real scare. We knew the level they were capable of playing and we were ready. Robin (Goodman) gave us another stellar performance in singles and it was good for Alen (Salibasic) to avenge his lone conference loss against a very talented player.
The Bulldogs captured the only point they needed in the affair collecting a pair of 8-5 victories at the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles positions to assume a 1-0 lead.
Clinching the doubles tally on the No. 2 court was the tandem of juniors Ben Mullis (Leicestershire, England) and Alen Salibasic (Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina), who downed Muddappa Appanervand and Urh Kranjnc Domiter.
Senior Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England) extended Drake's lead to 2-0 opening singles with a 6-0, 6-0 victory past Domiter at the No. 3 spot.
Salibasic moved the Bulldogs to within a point of the triumph avenging a regular season setback to Erik Brunskog with a 7-5, 6-4 win
Recording the match-clinching tally at the No. 2 position was sophomore Ben Lott (Newcastle, England), who bettered Jacob Wilson, 6-2, 6-1.
“I was very proud of the mental effort Ben (Lott) gave us today,” said Kozlowski. “He really struggled with the conditions here two weeks ago, but he came out with a much sharper mindset. We will relax the rest of the day and prepare for Wichita State."
NO. 39 DRAKE (21-5) DEF. ILLINOIS STATE (8-13), 4-0
APRIL 26, 2014 • NORMAL, ILL.
SINGLES:
No. 1 No. 71 Alen Salibasic (DU) def. Erik Brunskog (ILST), 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 Ben Lott (DU) def. Jacob Wilson (ILST), 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 Robin Goodman (DU) def. Urh Kranjnc Domiter (ILST), 6-0, 6-0
No. 4 Matt Frost (DU) leading Muddappa Appanervand (ILST), 7-5, 1-4
No. 5 Rolando Torrellas (ILST) leading Ravi Patel (DU), 6-1, 1-4 unfinished
No. 6 Ben Mullis (DU) leading Rodrigo Oliveira (ILST), 6-4, 5-2 unfinished
Order of finish: 3,1,2
DOUBLES:
No. 1 No. 84 Goodman/Lott (DU) def. Jakub Eisner/Torrellas (ILST), 8-5
No. 2 Mullis/Salibasic (DU) def. Appanervand/Kranjnc Domiter (ILST), 8-5
No. 3 Frost/Patel (DU) leading Brunskog/Oliveira (ILST), 7-4 unfinished
Order of finish: 1,2
