Bulldogs Win 11th Straight with 5

DES MOINES, Iowa — Drake men's tennis extended its winning streak to 11 matches Wednesday evening with a 5-2 victory over Oral Roberts at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. The Bulldogs improved to 11-2 overall, while the Golden Eagles fell to 6-11. The match also marked Drake's Summit League opener against a conference opponent.

Oral Roberts took the early advantage by claiming the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. The Golden Eagles earned a 6-3 victory at the top spot before securing the point with a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles. The No. 2 doubles match between Alan Gonzalez and Ben Johnson and Jack Cheek and Pijus Reklevicius went unfinished with Drake leading 5-2.

Drake quickly responded in singles play, winning five of the six matches to secure the comeback victory.

Alessandro Hernandez put the Bulldogs on the board first with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win over Reklevicius at No. 5 singles. Ben Johnson followed with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles to give Drake a 2-1 lead.

Alan Gonzalez continued the momentum with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Parv Nage at the No. 2 position, before Christian Winstead added another point for Drake with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Ricardo Filho at the top spot.

Sam Melaga closed out the match at No. 4 singles with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Rodrigo Guijarro. With the victory, Melaga remains undefeated in singles play this season.

"I thought we played with a lot of composure today," Drake head coach Justin Stuckey said. "Aless getting us on the board quickly helped us to turn the momentum of the match. We have some things we need to work on but credit to Oral Roberts as they fought us very hard and played with a lot of energy."

Drake has now won 11 consecutive matches as the Bulldogs continue to build momentum heading deeper into the spring schedule.

Click here to read article