Minnesota held off non-conference opponent Drake by a score of 5-2 Saturday night at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

The 37th-ranked Gophers evened up their record at 3-3 overall this season, and continued their success over Drake, with Minnesota holding an 8-1 all-time record over the Bulldogs.

The Gophers started strong, winning the doubles point in convincing fashion by taking all three of the matches. In singles, the Gophers' Dino Bilankov opened with a win over Guilherme Marsiglia, 6-1, 6-2. After Drake grabbed a point, the Gophers continued their success with #118-ranked Tobias Wernet clinching the match and getting Minnesota its fourth point of the night with a win over James McKie by a score of 6-3, 7-6 (1).

Freshman Rok Bonin captured Minnesota's final point of the night, and continued his streak of recent success, with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Cesar Bracho for his third straight win.

The last match of the night was a heartbreaker that went into a third and deciding set before 37th-ranked Sebastian Gallego fell to Mauricio Ballivian, 4-6, 7-5, 12-10.

Minnesota resumes action as it travels to Norman, Okla., next weekend to face the 44th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.

#37 Minnesota 5, Drake 2

Feb 20, 2010 Baseline Tennis Center Minneapolis, MN

Doubles
1. Sebastian Gallego/ Phillip Arndt (MINN) def. Mauricio Ballivian/ Cesar Bracho (DRAKE), 8-6
2. Tobias Wernet / Rok Bonin (MINN) def. Guilherme Marsiglia/ Jonathan Hadash (DRAKE), 8-5
3. Brendan Ruddock/ Derek Peterson (MINN) def. Jean Erasmus/ James McKie (DRAKE), 9-7

Singles
1. Mauricio Ballivian (DRAKE) def. #37 Sebastian Gallego (MINN), 4-6, 7-5, 12-10
2. #118 Tobias Wernet (MINN) def. James McKie (DRAKE), 6-3, 7-6 (1)
3. Rok Bonin (MINN) def. Cesar Bracho (DRAKE), 6-1, 6-4
4. Dino Bilankov (MINN) def. Guilherme Marsigilia (DRAKE), 6-1, 6-2
5. Phillip Arndt (MINN) def. Jean Erasmus (DRAKE), 6-3, 6-3
6. Jonathan Hadash (DRAKE) def. Michael Sicora (MINN), 6-4, 6-3