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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Bryan Morrow, the Wayne State University men's tennis team is set to play in a 2014 NCAA Tournament first-round match at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 3 against the University of Southern Indiana at Drury University. The Warriors (11-9 overall) are making their first NCAA appearance since 2011 and third in the past six years under Morrow.

Wayne State is playing as the No. 5 seed in the eight-team Midwest regional field. Fourth-seeded Southern Indiana (18-7 overall) is the No. 28-ranked team in the nation and has familiarity playing the GLIAC this season. The Screaming Eagles went 4-0 against GLIAC schools during the 2013-14 season, defeating Walsh (6-3), Tiffin (6-3), Findlay (5-4) and Ferris State (5-4).

There's plenty of symmetry between the two schools. The matchup pits the two third-place teams from the GLIAC and Great Lakes Valley Conferece (GLVC) conference tournaments. Like Wayne State, Southern Indiana fell to the eventual champion in the conference tournament (Drury) before winning the third-place match. USI defeated fellow NCAA Tournament team McKendree, 5-4, in the third-place match.

The last meeting between the two schools was also the last match for Wayne State in the NCAA Tournament. Southern Indiana and WSU met in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, with the Screaming Eagles earning a 5-1 victory over the Warriors, also in Springfield, Mo. Wayne State seniors Melvin Joseph (Northville, Mich. / Northville) and Michael FitzGerald (Grosse Ile, Mich. / Grosse Ile) both played in the match as freshmen. Joseph fell in a thrilling, 9-8 (14-12) match at No. 1 doubles with Aman Gill, while FitzGerald and doubles partner Thomas Ducret dropped an 8-4 match at No. 2 doubles.

The winner of the WSU and Southern Indiana match faces the winner of top-seeded Drury and eighth-seeded Grand Valley on Sunday. The match Sunday is set to start at 12 p.m. in Springfield.

The Warriors earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament after finishing in a tie-for-third in the GLIAC regular-season standings at 8-3. With its third-place finish at the GLIAC Tournament, the Warriors earned their best finish at the league tournament since 2011.

All-GLIAC Honors
Freshmen Clement Charriere (Marseille, France) and Stephane Robineau (Paris, France) each earned All-GLIAC honors following the conclusion of the regular season. Charriere, who leads the Warriors with a record of 16-8 in singles, earned First Team All-GLIAC accolades, while Robineau earned Honorable Mention All-GLIAC honors. Each player has split time at No. 1 and No. 2 singles for the Warriors during the regular season, while both earned double-digit doubles victories as well. Robineau finished the season playing No. 1 doubles with junior Trey Keating, while Charriere and FitzGerald earned a GLIAC record of 8-2 at the second flight in doubles.

Seniors Move Up in Record Books
FitzGerald and Joseph have each moved into the top five in Wayne State history in both singles and doubles victories throughout the season. In career singles wins, FitzGerald is fourth all-time (49 victories), while Joseph is fifth with 46 career wins. The pair are third and fourth, respectively, in doubles wins. FitzGerald has 59 career wins, while Joseph has 56 career victories in doubles.