pMinnesota's match against Drake was originally set for Feb. 3, but due to bad weather conditions, the match has been rescheduled for this weekend. The Golden Gophers host the Bulldogs on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Northwest Athletic Club in Bloomington.

About The Golden Gophers
Minnesota finished its eight-match road trip over the weekend with two wins over Syracuse and Maryland. Minnesota shut out Syracuse 7-0, winning all six singles matches and winning two of the three doubles to get the doubles point. Against Maryland, the Gophers won four of the six singles matches, including the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. They also captured the doubles point by winning two of the three matches.

On the doubles side, newcomer Valerie Vladea (Kitchener, Ontario/ Burlington Central) and sophomore Michaela Havelkova (Liberec, Czech Republic/Gymnazium F.X. Saldy) won both matches at the No. 1 spot to improve their record to 8-1. At No. 3 doubles, sophomore Amy Thomas (Orchard Park, N.Y, Orchard Park) and newcomer Brandi Watts (Monument, Colo., Lewis-Palmer) also won both their matches and improved to 7-2.

The National Ranking
The Golden Gophers are ranked No. 62 in the latest national ranking, released March 7. Minnesota is one of 10 Big Ten Conference teams listed among the nation's top 75 teams. Northwestern leads the way at No. 11, followed by Ohio State at No. 21 and Illinois at No. 24. Rounding out the conference teams: Iowa (41), Indiana (43), Michigan (58), Penn State (59), Minnesota (62), Purdue (67), and Wisconsin (tied, 75).

About Drake
The Bulldogs compete in the Missouri Valley Conference and are 5-5 overall. They are coming off a split this past weekend, beating Northwest Missouri State 7-0, and losing to DePaul 6-1. Minnesota leads the all-time series with Drake, 19-1.

Up Next
Minnesota is at home for the next two matches. The first of the two is on Friday, March 23 against Michigan State; the second is on Sunday, March 25 against Michigan.