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The Basics
Drake men’s tennis returns to the road on Saturday, March 28, for a matchup against North Dakota in Grand Forks. First serve is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Fans can follow the match through the live scoring link available on the Drake men’s tennis schedule page.
Bulldog Breakdown
Drake enters Saturday’s contest with a 14–2 overall record and will look to extend its current 14-match winning streak. The Bulldogs are coming off a hard-fought 5–2 victory over Northwest Missouri State on March 24 at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
After securing a dominant 6–0 win at No. 1 doubles from the pairing of Alan Gonzalez and Ben Johnson, Drake dropped a pair of narrow tiebreak decisions to concede the doubles point. The Bulldogs quickly regrouped in singles play, winning five of six matches to secure the comeback victory.
Jose Hernandez jump-started the rally with a 6–0, 6–0 win at No. 5 singles, improving his dual record to 8–2 this spring. Christian Winstead followed with a straight-set victory at the top spot, while Johnson added a 6–2, 6–4 win at No. 3 singles to move to 7–3 on the season.
Sam Melaga continued his dominant run in the middle of the lineup, improving to a team-best 11–0 with his victory at No. 4 singles. Arin Menon clinched the match at No. 6 singles with a second-set tiebreak triumph and enters Saturday’s matchup with an 11–1 record.
Throughout the winning streak, Drake has relied heavily on its depth in the lower half of the lineup. Melaga and Menon have combined for a 22–1 singles record during the stretch, while Hernandez has added eight dual wins. At the top of the lineup, Gonzalez leads all regular starters with eight singles victories.
In doubles play, the Bulldogs continue to search for consistency despite flashes of strong performances. Gonzalez and Johnson have split eight decisions together this spring, while the pairing of Adan Tarquino and Ulysse Verrando has emerged as Drake’s most productive tandem with a 5–2 record.
Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota enters the matchup with a 12–6 overall record and is coming off a 4–1 victory over New Orleans on March 12.
Head coach Tom Boysen is in his fifth season leading the program and has guided the Fighting Hawks to consistent improvement. North Dakota is coming off a record-setting 2024-25 campaign in which it won 18 matches, finished second in the Summit League regular-season standings and advanced to the Summit League Championship match for the first time in the program’s Division I era.
Boysen brings extensive Division I coaching experience with previous stops at Vanderbilt, Dartmouth and Nebraska and has helped develop multiple all-conference and nationally ranked players.
Up Next
Following Saturday’s match, Drake will remain on the road to face Illinois State on Wednesday, April 1 at 12:30 p.m. in Normal, Ill.