Drake softball team captures MVC Tourney title

CARBONDALE, ILL. -- Senior outfielder Kristin Birocci (Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln) slugged a three-run home run to key a four-run uprising with two outs in the third inning as the Drake softball team beat Missouri State, 7-2, in the championship of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Saturday.

The Bulldogs, who were picked to finish ninth in the preseason MVC coaches poll, earned the league's automatic qualifying berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman pitcher Brynne Dordel (Chanhassen, Minn.), who was earlier named the MVC Newcomer of the Year, went the distance for Drake scattering six hits while striking out six batters to earn her 19th victory of the season.

Senior catcher Susan Slycord (West Des Moines,Iowa/Valley) capped off the third inning by singling home senior second baseman Jaci Faidley (Colfax, Iowa/Colfax-Mingo).

Faidley had singled and stole second base after the three-run homer by Birocci. Clinging to a 4-2 lead, Drake added three insurance runs in the seventh inning highlight by a two-run double down the left field line by senior first baseman Marilyn Buss (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley).

Named to the all-tournament team were Faidley, Buss, Biroci and Dordel, the tournament MVP.

Drake men's tennis team falls in NCAA Tournament to 18th-ranked LSU

CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – As they walked off the Atkins Tennis Center courts following their 4-1 NCAA Tournament setback against No. 18 LSU on Friday, May 9, the magnitude of all they had accomplished hit the eight members of the Drake men’s tennis team.

An undefeated season wasn’t meant to be as the Tigers dealt the Bulldogs their first loss in 25 matches to end Drake’s campaign at 24-1. LSU improved its ledger to 15-8.

“It was a phenomenal season and one for us to remember,” Bulldog head coach Chase Hodges said. “I hope the guys can take the experience and continue to improve.”

Junior Maor Zirkin (Kibutz Hazor, Israel) accounted for the Bulldogs first NCAA Tournament point under Hodges as he downed Jan Zelezny at the No. 2 singles slot, 6-1, 6-2. He raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first set versus 106th-rated Zelezny en route to taking a 6-1 decision. He continued the momentum in the second set registering a 6-2 triumph to finish off his 175th career victory.

“It is great to win our first NCAA Tournament point at Drake, but unfortunately we lost the match,” Zirkin said. “They always say the first point is the hardest and hopefully it won’t be the last for Drake. The bottom line is we lost and it is a team season but this victory proved to me that I can compete with the best at this level.”

“Maor played outstanding as he dominated his opponent to pick up big point for us that was a highlight of today,” Hodges said. “The key word today was opportunity and we had opportunities but we didn’t cash in on those and that was the difference in match. We came out in doubles and LSU took it to us. We had guys who fought all the way to the end.”

The duo of Zirkin and senior Dalibor Pavic (Adelaide, Australia) came out of the gate strong in their showdown with the 16th-rated doubles team of Michael Venus and James Cluskey assuming an early 2-1 advantage. The Tiger tandem fought back with five unanswered points to push the margin to 6-2 en route to taking the match, 8-3.

LSU secured its other victory on the No. 2 court where Colt Gaston and Kevin Dessauer pushed past sophomore Bokang Setshogo (Gaborone, Botswana) and junior Ricardo Lau (Tegucigalpa, Honduras), 8-2.

LSU made a late and controversial change in its line-up between the doubles and singles matches and the disruption had an affect on the bottom of the Drake rotation.

The momentum of Zirkin’s win was fleeting as the Tigers regained the lead for good on the No. 6 court where Sebastian Carlsson dispatched of junior Ivan Mendoza (Wellington, New Zealand), 6-1, 6-1.

After dropping his first set at the fifth position to Cluskey, 6-0, Setshogo fell behind 5-3 in the second frame before battling back to cut the deficit to 5-4. In an epic game in which both sides exchanged and staved off advantage, Cluskey was able to finally put away Setshogo, 6-4.

With LSU up 3-1, the affair then swung to the fourth singles court where Lau was battling Julien Gauthier. After falling in the first set 6-1, Lau had battled back in the second set before Gauthier put him away with a 6-2 decision to finish off a 6-1, 6-2 triumph.

Freshman Mauricio Ballivian’s (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) contest at No. 3 against Dessauer was abandoned with the score tied at 5-5 in the second set. Dessauer had claimed the first set, 6-1.

Coming up short in his attempt at becoming Drake’s all-time wins leader was Pavic, whose tilt with No. 26 Venus was halted in the second set with Pavic up 6-5. Venus had won a tightly-contested first set, 7-5.

“We had Pavic and Mauricio still battling in winnable matches when the match was called so it would have been fun to see play out,” Hodges commented. “I’m very proud of guys and effort and to coach a great group of student-athletes.”

Drake team takes third in national Pharmacy and Theraputics competition

MEDIA CONTACT: Tory Olson, 515-271-1834, tory.olson@drake.edu

The Drake team of Seth Housman, Kejal Patel, Kevin Weber and Jennifer Lose finished third in the national Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee Competition at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) annual meeting in San Francisco. 

"Our team did an outstanding job," said Lon Larson, the Levitt professor of pharmacy administration. "They enhanced the reputation of Drake within AMCP and managed care circles."

The competition mimics the process used by hospitals and insurance plans in deciding if a new drug should be placed on their formulary. The team wrote a monograph of the designated drug, assessed its cost-effectiveness and place in therapy and formally presented and defended its analysis and recommendation.

"The experience of the competition and traveling to San Francisco really opens your eyes to a side of pharmacy that you don't get to see in school," said Weber. "The hands-on experience of competing against several other determined teams helped us all develop professionally."

The competition requires a breadth of knowledge and skills from both the administrative and clinical sides of pharmacy practice - interpreting and weighing studies of drug effectiveness as well as assessing the economic implications for insurance companies or hospitals.

"Participating at the national level was an amazing opportunity to see the pharmacy profession excel in yet another direction," said Housman. "It opened up future career opportunities and provided an amazing amount of networking with alumni and prominent leaders in managed care pharmacy."

The Drake team was one of the eight finalists in the national competition. To be considered eligible, the team won the local competition and the AMCP national office selected them to compete.

Drake has participated in the competition since 2004. Drake teams have been among the top eight finalists twice in the past four years, finishing first in the nation in 2004.

The AMCP is a national professional society dedicated to the concept and practice of pharmaceutical care in managed health care environments. With over 4,800 members nationally, the academy serves to promote the development and application of pharmaceutical care, representing the views and interests of managed care pharmacies and all individuals. Information about the AMCP is available online.