DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Northern Illinois University men’s tennis team opened the dual meet portion of its schedule with a 7-0 setback at 46th-ranked Drake on Friday afternoon at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

“With four days of practice and so many new guys I did not know what to expect from our guys today,” said NIU head coach Patrick Fisher. “It was quite a humbling experience for us and we have a big mountain to climb if we want to play at the level we aspire to. Give credit to Drake they are top-25 material, that being said, we need to improve in a lot of areas.”

The Bulldogs took the double point, sweeping all three matches. At third doubles, freshman Georg Lundkvist (Linkoping, Sweden/Lindkopings Kommun) made his NIU debut, pairing with freshman Louis-Philippe Hamel (Drummondville, Quebec, Canada); the duo was edged, 7-6, by Ben Stride and Bayo Philips. Drake (1-0) also earned a tight victory at number one singles, 6-4, as Alen Salibasic and Ben Lott defeated freshman Kevin Daun (Vasteras, Sweden/Widenska Gymnasiet Idrottscollege) and sophomore Matt Lynch (Cedarburg, Wis./Marquette High School).

In singles play, senior Frederic Cadieux (Verdun, Quebec, Canada/Ediuard-Montpetit) and junior Simon Formont (Orléans, France/Lycée Camille Claudel) faced a pair of nationally-ranked opponents at first and second singles. Cadieux met 46th-ranked Salibasic at number one, falling 6-2, 6-1. At second singles, Formont matched up with 30th-ranked Lott, falling 6-3, 6-2.

Lynch played a tight first set with Matt Frost at number three, but fell in straight-sets, 7-6, 6-1. Drake also picked up the points at four, five and six singles.

The Huskies will open the home portion of their 2015 slate next Friday, Jan. 23, when they host Wisconsin-Whitewater at 10 a.m., and UIC at 2 p.m., in Rockford.

Singles
1. #46 Alen Salibasic (DU) def. Frederic Cadieux (NIU) 6-2, 6-1
2. #30 Ben Lott (DU) def. Simon Formont (NIU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Matt Frost (DU) def. Matt Lynch (NIU) 7-6, 6-1
4. Ravi Patel (DU) def. Tom Hjertonsson (NIU) 6-0, 6-3
5. Ben Stride (DU) def. Georg Lundkvist (NIU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Bayo Philips (DU) def. Carlos Manzanas (NIU) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
1. Alen Salibasic/Ben Lott (DU) def. Kevin Daun/Matt Lynch (NIU) 6-4
2. Matt Frost/Ravi Patel (DU) def. Simon Formont/Frederic Cadieux (NIU) 6-1
3. Ben Stride/Bayo Philips (DU) def. Georg Lundkvist/Louis-Philippe Hamel (NIU) 7-6