WILMINGTON, N.C. - In its initial outdoor match of the spring campaign, the Drake men's tennis team persevered through threatening weather to earn a 6-0 victory over Gardner-Webb on Sunday (March 15).

The Bulldogs registered their third consecutive triumph pushing their ledger to 6-8 on the campaign, while Gardner-Webb dropped to 5-13.

"The conditions today were not ideal but the team did a tremendous job of adjusting,” Drake head coach Chase Hodges commented.  “We have won three in a row now and the team is starting to really make improvements."

With the threat of impending rain the two sides contested singles action first and the decision paid dividends as showers concluded the tilt without doubles being played.

Drake jumped to a 3-0 advantage on the strength of victories from junior Guilherme Marsiglia (Porto Alegre, Brazil), sophomore Mauricio Ballivian (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) and freshman Evgeny Silitski (Minsk, Belarus) at the Nos. 5, 2 and 3 positions, respectively.

Senior Ricardo Lau (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) clinched the triumph for the Bulldogs at the No. 6 slot besting Ryan Bernthal, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Rounding out the victory total for Drake were seniors Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) and Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand) at the first and fourth holes, respectively.

The Bulldogs resume action on Tuesday facing South Carolina-Upstate in a 1:00 p.m. matinee affair.

DRAKE (6-8) DEF. GARDNER-WEBB (5-13), 6-0
MARCH 15, 2009
WILMINGTON, N.C.

SINGLES:
No. 1 Maor Zirkin (DU) def. Evgeny Slesarev (GW), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 Mauricio Ballivian (DU) def. Andrew Veeder (GW), 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 Evgeny Silitski (DU) def. Rafael Altmayer (GW), 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
No. 4 Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Carlos Quijano (GW), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
No. 5 Guilherme Marsiglia (DU) def. Jamie Lawlor (GW), 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 Ricardo Lau (DU) def. Ryan Bernthal (GW), 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
Order of finish (5,2,3,6,1,4)

DOUBLES:
Not Contested