The championship game of the 2006 State Farm/MVC Men's Tennis Championship provided all of the drama that you would expect when the top two teams in the conference meet. Drake, backed by a boisterous home crowd, rallied after losing the doubles point and grabbed the 4-1 come-from-behind victory and claimed the 2006 Men's title.  For the women, No. 1 Wichita State State defeated No. 2 Indiana State 4-0. With the win, the Shockers earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Due to inclement weather, all three days of the 2006 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women's and Men's Tennis Team Championships were moved indoors. The women's matches were contested at the Hanscom Indoor Tennis Center and the men moved inside the Drake Tennis Center.

Sunday Men's Racap 
The championship game of the 2006 State Farm/MVC Men's Tennis Championship provided all of the drama that you would expect when the top two teams in the conference meet. Drake, backed by a boistrous home crowd, rallied after losing the doubles point and grabbed the 4-1 come-from-behind victory and claimed the 2006 Men's title.

In doubles, Drake took the early advantage when the No. 1 Drake pairing of Maor Zirkin and Dalibor Pavic easily defeated Illinois State's Alban Renard and Oscar Beich, 8-0.

Illinois State would not back down though as Luka Marinkovic and Daniel Tobar won at No. 3, 8-6, to even things up. The doubles point hinged on the No. 2 doubles line and ILS's Djordje Uskokovic and Nuno Jacinto battled back to take the game 8-6 and give the Redbirds the early 1-0 advantage.

Drake would not trail for long though as Zirkin and Pavic were once agian too tough at the top of DU's lineup. Zirkin won his No. 1 match easily over Yohann Nograbat 6-0, 6-1 and Pavic finished his match at No. 2 minutes later over Renard 6-2, 6-3.  Sergi Vila then gave the Bulldogs a 3-1 advantage, when he took out Nuno Jacinto 6-1, 7-5 at the No. 3 spot.

Focus then shifted to the No. 6 singles court where freshman Ivan Mendoza was facing All-Conference selection at No. 6 singles, Marinkovic. Mendoza took the first set easliy 6-0 and then, just like his team had done all day, he rallied in the second set for a 6-4 win to clinch the team title.

With the win, Drake improves to 24-2 on the season and earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. This is Drake's first team title since 1993 and in the process they set a school record for wins in a season.

Sunday Women's Recap
Top-seeded Wichita State defeated second-seeded Indiana State, 4-0, to win the championship match of the 2006 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Team Tennis Championships. This is Wichita State’s eighth league title, but first since 1998.

Wichita State took the doubles point to take the early 1-0 lead. Wichita State’s No. 3 pair of Genevieve Spink and Jackie Richey stormed to an early 4-1 lead and won 8-5 over Imane Lahlou and Marie Caujolle.

At No. 2 doubles, Wichita State’s tandem of Ana Ines Exeni and Anna Egorova took a 5-1 lead early, then held on for an 8-5 win over Fadzai Masiyazi and Sarah Galparoli. The Masiyazi-Galparoli pair had won 10 straight matches and were unbeaten in nine previous matches against Valley competition this season.

With the Shocker win at No. 2 doubles, that ended the fight for the doubles point and ended a classic match at No. 1 doubles. Wichita State’s all-MVC pair of Madina Rakhim and Wendi Webster had just broken Indiana State’s serve and were ahead 7-6 during a changeover when their match was stopped. WSU’s No.1 team is 19-1 on the season, while Indiana State’s top doubles squad is 21-2 on the campaign.

Wichita State would win the match with an impressive showing in singles competition.

Spink downed Lahlou at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-0, to put the Shockers up 2-0 early. A short time later, Torrie Browning, beat Caujolle 6-4, 6-2 to push the WSU lead to 3-0.

Fittingly, two of the best players in the conference decided the championship. At No. 1 singles, Rakhim avenged a straight-set regular-season loss to Jennifer Migan to beat the Sycamores’ top singles player, 6-4, 6-1. Rakhim, ranked 123rd in the nation, improved to 20-3 with her eighth straight win. Migan fell to 20-3 while seeing her 13-match winning streak come to an end.

At the time the match was stopped, Wichita State led two other matches in the third set and were down a set in another.

Wichita State improved to 17-7 with the victory, while Indiana State fell to 19-5 with the setback. With the win, the Shockers earn the MVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Pairings will be announced on Wednesday, May 3rd on ESPNEWS at approximately 7:45 pm Central.

Sunday's Championships 
Men:  No. 2 Drake def. No. 1 Illinois State -- 3-1

Women:  No. 1 Wichita State def. No. 2 Indiana State -- 4-0

Saturday Recap 
Illinois State outlasted Missouri State in Saturday's first semifinal match of the men's championship by a score of 4-2. The Redbirds gained the early advantage by taking the doubles point, but Missouri State would not go quietly.

In singles, ILS's Luka Marinkovic was victorious at No. 6 in straight sets (6-1, 6-3), while MSU's John Kellert won at No. 2 (7-5, 6-2) to keep things tight. No. 5 singles finished up next, with Oscar Beich of ILS winning in three sets (2-6, 6-3, 6-3). Then, minutes later, Jiri Spousta grabbed the victory at No. 1 (0-6, 7-6, 6-2) for MSU. With Nos. 3 and 4 both playing in the third set, ILS had the slight 3-2 edge.

Illinois State's Djordje Uskokovic proved to be the hero for the Redbirds as he was able to put away his match at No. 4 singles (6-4, 3-6, 5-3) and propel ILS into Sunday's final.

The second match saw Drake take control from the outset. The Bulldogs claimed the doubles point to take the early 1-0 lead with wins at Nos. 1 and 3.

In singles, Jonathan Tishler made quick work of his opponent with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 4. Dalibor Pavic was next to finish and stake the Bulldogs to a 3-0 lead as he won at No. 2, 6-2, 6-1. Maor Zirkin finished off the Braves at No. 1, winning 6-2, 6-4 to put his team in tomorrow's championship.

The Bulldogs lone conference loss came at the hands of the Redbirds back on April 8. In the match played at Normal, Ill., Illinois State won by the score of 5-2.

At the women's tournament, No. 1 Wichita State downed No. 5 Drake, 4-0, to advance to Sunday's final. The Shockers will face No. 2 Indiana State in the final as they downed No. 3 Illinois State also by a score of 4-0.

Tomorrow's finals start at noon with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. Wichita State beat the Sycamores 4-3 on April 14 in Terre Haute.

Saturday's Men's Semifinals 
No. 1 Illinois State def. No. 4 Missouri State -- 4-2
No. 2 Drake def. No. 6 Bradley -- 4-0

Saturday's Women's Semifinals 
No. 1 Wichita State def. No. 5 Drake -- 4-0
No. 2 Indiana State def. No. 3 Illinois State -- 4-0

Friday Recap 
No. 1 Illinois State defeated No. 8 Creighton in the first men's match early on Friday morning inside at the Drake Tennis Center. All play on Friday was moved indoors due to rain. The Redbirds claimed the doubles point and won at Nos. 1, 3 and 5 in singles to advance to Saturday's semifinals.

In match two, Missouri State outlasted Indiana State 4-1 and will play Illinois State on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The Sycamores came into the tournament down a man in their lineup and that proved too much to overcome. MSU won the doubles point and had wins at Nos. 3 and 5 singles to go along with their win by defeault at No. 6 to remain in the hunt for the league title.

The third match saw the host and second-seeded Drake Bulldogs down No. 7 Southern Illinois. The Salukis almost took the doubles point and were at double-match point at the No. 3 spot, but failed to take advantage and fell behind 1-0. The top of Drake's lineup was too tough for SIU and the Bulldogs took the win with matches at Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

The final men's match made everyone wait to see who would be the last semifinal qualifier. In what turned out to be a four and a half hour marathon, No. 6 Bradley outlasted No. 3 Wichita State 4-3 to advance to play on Saturday.

All of Friday's women's matches also were moved indoors due to inclement weather. In the first match, No. 8 Creighton downed No. 9 Southern Illinois, 4-2 and in the second match No. 10 Bradley upset No. 7 Evansville 4-2 in another five-hour battle.

The matches originally scheduled for noon, were pushed back by the early matches and concluded late in the afternoon. Continuing the trend of the day, No. 5 Drake upset No. 4 Missouri State 4-2. In the other later afternoon match, No. 3 Illinois State had no problem with No. 6 UNI and won 4-0.

In what turned out to be evening matches on the women's side, No. 2 Indiana State and No. 1 Wichita State both won by scores of 4-0 to advance to tomorrow's semifinals.

Friday's Men's Matches 
No. 1 Illinois State def. Creighton -- 4-0
No. 4 Missouri State def. No. 5 Indiana State -- 4-1
No. 2 Drake def. No. 7 Southern Illinois -- 4-0
No. 6 Bradley def. No. 3 Wichita State -- 4-3

Friday's Women's Matches 
No. 8 Creighton def. Southern Illinois -- 4-2
No. 10 Bradley def. No. 7 Evansville -- 4-2
No. 5 Drake def. Missouri State -- 4-2
No. 3 Illinois State def. No. 6 UNI -- 4-0
No. 1 Wichita State def. No. 8 Creighton -- 4-0
No. 2 Indiana State def. Bradley -- 4-0