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The Basics<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bulldog Breakdown<\/p>\n
Drake enters Saturday’s contest with a 14\u20132 overall record and will look to extend its current 14-match winning streak. The Bulldogs are coming off a hard-fought 5\u20132 victory over Northwest Missouri State on March 24 at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.<\/p>\n
After securing a dominant 6\u20130 win at No. 1 doubles from the pairing of Alan Gonzalez<\/a> and Ben Johnson<\/a>, 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jose Hernandez jump-started the rally with a 6\u20130, 6\u20130 win at No. 5 singles, improving his dual record to 8\u20132 this spring. Christian Winstead<\/a> followed with a straight-set victory at the top spot, while Johnson added a 6\u20132, 6\u20134 win at No. 3 singles to move to 7\u20133 on the season.<\/p>\n Sam Melaga<\/a> continued his dominant run in the middle of the lineup, improving to a team-best 11\u20130 with his victory at No. 4 singles. Arin Menon<\/a> clinched the match at No. 6 singles with a second-set tiebreak triumph and enters Saturday’s matchup with an 11\u20131 record.<\/p>\n 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\u20131 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> and Ulysse Verrando<\/a> has emerged as Drake’s most productive tandem with a 5\u20132 record.<\/p>\n Scouting North Dakota<\/p>\n North Dakota enters the matchup with a 12\u20136 overall record and is coming off a 4\u20131 victory over New Orleans on March 12.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Up Next<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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