DES MOINES, IOWA - The list of accolades for the Drake men's tennis squad grew a little longer this week as the Bulldogs garnered recognition for their play as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released its regional rankings.

On the heels of its third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular season crown, Drake finished sixth in the Central Region ahead of conference rivals Southern Illinois (7th), Wichita State (8th), Illinois State (9th) and Creighton (13th).

"It is great to be recognized as one of the top teams in our region again,” Bulldog head coach Chase Hodges commented.  “We hope to continue to compete at this high level during the 2010 season and I'm looking forward to seeing our guys develop in the fall."

Individually, senior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) and sophomore Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) were slotted 11th and 17th, respectively in singles.  The tandem of Zirkin and freshman Cesar Bracho (Luque, Paraguay) came in 11th in the doubles tabulations.  Both singles and doubles rankings represented the highest for any player from the MVC.

Zirkin, the 2009 MVC Player of the Year, was the catalyst for the Bulldogs' success, posting a team-best 53-18 combined singles/doubles ledger, including 32-5 in singles.  The 53 wins moved Zirkin into sole possession of top spot on the school's all-time victories list with 228, surpassing Robert Novotny (1993-97) and Dalibor Pavic (2004-08).

"Maor had an incredible career for us here at Drake,” Hodges said.  “We are sad to see him leave but appreciate all of his efforts in making our program nationally recognized."

Finishing the campaign with a 45-21 combined singles/doubles mark was Ballivian, who also led the Bulldogs in doubles victories with 23. 

"Mauricio had a solid sophomore campaign for us,” Hodges explained.  “We will look for Mauricio to step his game up for his junior season as he knows that he will be a major factor in our success."

In doubles, Zirkin and Bracho made the most of their limited court time together this spring as the duo posted a 6-1 doubles record.

"Maor and Cesar had a nice season for us as a very good doubles pair,” Hodges commented.  “Cesar is a very strong doubles player and we will need to find him a new partner for the upcoming season."

Ballivian, Bracho and the rest of the Bulldogs return to the court on Sept. 18 for the Drake Fall Invitational (Sept. 18-20) at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.