University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Drake University
Minnesota Wins 10th Match of the Season
3/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Minneapolis, Minn. - The Golden Gophers improved to 10-3 on the season as they defeated the Drake Bulldogs 5-2 at Baseline Sunday afternoon. Minnesota also earned its ninth home victory, moving to 9-2 at home.
"The team deserves the win today after competing so well." Head coach Geoff Young said. "We're looking forward to a great week of practice before heading to Wisconsin."
Doubles
Marino Alpeza and Justyn Levin battled Vinny Gillespie and Tom Hands in the No. 2 slot, but fell by a score of 6-3 to begin the day. The No. 3 doubles set was next to finish, as Drake's Ben Stride and Barny Thorold took down Minnesota's Stefan Milicevic and Eli Ogilvy 6-4.
The No. 32 ranked pair of Matic Spec and Felix Corwin saw their set end unfinished as they were tied 5-5 against Bayo Philips and Ben Wood at No. 1 doubles.
Singles
The first singles match of the day to finish was the No. 5 singles, where Josip Krstanovic took down Philips 6-1, 6-3. This set the tone as Minnesota would not trail the Bulldogs in the overall score for the rest of the day.
Corwin was the next Gopher to capture a victory, his eighth win of the season. He came back from a 5-1 deficit in the second set to defeat Stride 6-1, 7-5 in the No. 2 slot.
Drake, who beat the University Washington 4-3 on Saturday, would earn its final point of the day in the No. 1 singles match. This ranked matchup featured No. 55 Gillespie, who beat Minnesota's No. 68 Spec 6-1, 7-6(3).
Minnesota would win the next three matches to capture the victory. In the No. 3 singles match, No. 117 Milicevic defeated Thorold 6-4, 6-3 while Alpeza earned the clinching point for the Maroon & Gold when he beat Ben Clark 7-6(3), 6-4 in the No. 6 singles slot.
The final match of the afternoon to finish was the No. 4 singles, where Minnesota's Ogilvy earned the final point for the team as he took down Hands 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. It was the only match of the day to go to three sets.
The Gophers begin Big Ten Play on Saturday, as they travel to Wisconsin to begin a three-match road stint. Minnesota will return to Baseline on March 26th, when the Iowa Hawkeyes come to town.
You can follow all of the action this year on the Gophers' Facebook, Twitter, and Instragram.
Minnesota 5, Drake 2
Mar. 5, 2017 at Minneapolis, Minn. (Baseline Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #55 Vinny Gillespie (DU) def. #68 Matic Spec (MINN) 6-1, 7-6(3)
2. Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Ben Stride (DU) 6-1, 7-5
3. #117 Stefan Milicevic (MINN) def. Barny Thorold (DU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Eli Ogilvy (MINN) def. Tom Hands (DU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Josip Krstanovic (MINN) def. Bayo Philips (DU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Marino Alpeza (MINN) def. Ben Clark (DU) 7-6(3), 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #32 Matic Spec/Felix Corwin (MINN) were tied with Bayo Philips/Ben Wood (DU) 5-5
2. Vinny Gillespie/Tom Hands (DU) def. Marino Alpeza/Justyn Levin (MINN) 6-3
3. Ben Stride/Barny Thorold (DU) def. Eli Ogilvy/Stefan Milicevic (MINN) 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,2,1,3,6,4)
Attendance: 131
Start: Noon
End: 2:40
Players Mentioned
