Drake Men’s tennis took on a couple of big schools while they were on their spring break. To start the trip the Bulldogs took on Vanderbilt University on Sunday, March 13 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Bulldogs were able to win two of their doubles matches, doubles two with Matija Matic and Evan Fragistas won their set 6-3, and doubles three won their set 7-5. Drake men’s tennis also won two singles matches, redshirt sophomore Matija Matic won his match at singles two in a tough three set battle, 7-5,4-6,6-1.
Redshirt junior Evan Fragistas won his singles match at singles four in a third set as well. Fragistas dropped a close first set 4-6, but continued to fight to win the second set 6-2 and the third 6-1.
Despite these successes the Bulldogs lost 3-4 to Vanderbilt. The next week on Saturday, March 19 Drake picked up a 4-3 win against Samford University.
Drake men’s tennis went into the singles matches down 0-1 after losing the doubles point. Sophomore Jeremy Schifris won his singles match at number one singles.
Schifris had a close first set, but was able to win it 7-6. He was then able to win the second set 6-3.
Redshirt sophomore Oliver Johansson played in the singles three spot and got a win for the Bulldogs. Johansson won his first set in a tiebreak, 7-6 and then continued to fight to get the second set 6-4.
At singles four, Fragistas cruised through his match winning in straight sets, 6-2,6-3. First-year Olle Sonesson won his match at six singles. Sonesson battled to get his first set in a tiebreaker and then quickly took the second set 6-2, allowing the Bulldogs to get the win.
“I’m happy with how the team competed today, we are going to use this win and continue to work towards getting some more wins this season,” Matic said.
Drake men’s tennis then went on to play the University of Alabama the next day on Sunday, March 20.
The Bulldogs led in the team score 1-0 heading into the singles matches after getting a win at doubles two and three. Fragistas had a close first set and was able to pull out a 7-5 win. Fragistas continued this success into the second set and was able to get a quick lead after breaking his opponent’s service game, and then proceeded to win the second set 6-1. This helped get a singles point for Drake.
“I had a close first set, but I was able to win some important points to allow me to get a lead at 6-5 and then close out the set winning it 7-5,” Fragistas said. “Heading into the second set I went up 3-0 which helped me have an easier second set.”
Redshirt sophomore Reid Jarvis got a singles win at singles five. Jarvis had a quick lead in the match getting the first set 6-2. The second set was a close battle between Jarvis and his opponent. Jarvis dropped the second set 5-7, but quickly got back to work to win the third set 6-3, allowing the team score to be 3-3.
The Bulldogs did not end up getting the fourth point to get the win and fell 3-4 to Alabama. The men’s tennis team will next play Illinois State University on Friday, April 1 in Normal, Ill.
