The Drake men’s tennis team competed twice the weekend of Feb. 17, both on the road and against tough matchups. To start the weekend, the Bulldogs took on Western Michigan.
The team started off the match with Matija Matic and Oliver Johansson at doubles one, falling 2-6. Markus Bolin and Sonesson Lidholt lost their match 2-6 at doubles three.
Heading into singles, Drake was down 0-1. At singles one, Matic lost a three set match, 7-6, 4-6, 1-6. Evan Fragistas lost his match in a close three set as well, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
At singles three, Johansson pulled away with a 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory. At singles four, Sonesson Lindholt won his match with a straight set victory, 6-4, 6-4. At singles five, Reid Jarvis won his match 7-6, 6-7, 6-4. At singles six, Bolin got a three set victory.
Due to their four singles-match wins, Drake managed to pull away with a slim 4-3 overall victory over Western Michigan to end off the day.
Bolin shared his thoughts on the day, along with how he thought the next day’s matchup against Michigan State would go.
“I’m glad we were able to come out and compete today, [and I’m] looking forward to tomorrow’s match,” Bolin said.
On Feb. 18, the Bulldogs faced off against Michigan State. The team got off to a hot start with a 1-0 lead following the completion of the doubles point, as all doubles matchups ended with Drake victories.
The hot start began to cool down in the singles matchups as Drake struggled to maintain consistency on the court.
At singles one, Jeremy Schifris lost the first set 6-7, came back to win the second set 6-3, and lost the third and final set 1-6, resulting in a Michigan point. At singles two, Fragistas battled through a close two set match to get a 7-5, 6-4 win. At singles three, Johansson lost in another close three set match.
At singles four, Sonesson Lindholt lost 4-6, 3-6. At singles five, Jarvis also lost 6-1, 6-1. Finally, at singles six, Bolin was able to get a 7-5, 6-4 win.
Despite this final win, Drake fell short of a back-to-back victory on the weekend and fell 3-4 against Michigan State.
Matic explained that despite the loss against Michigan State, he was still looking forward to the team’s next game against Wisconsin.
“I’m glad that we were able to get a win on the road, and I’m looking forward to being back at home this upcoming weekend to compete against Wisconsin,” Matic said.
The Bulldog’s record following these matchups was 7-5 overall. Following a 6-1 win against Wisconsin on Feb. 25, their record has improved to 8-5.
The team’s next competition will come during the Arizona State University Spring Break Tournament, an event lasting from March 10-12.
