Daniel Grey and Cedric Drenth advanced to the finals of the Doubles A Draw.

Men's Tennis 9/19/2022 1:44:00 PM Zachary Manning, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Men's Tennis Concludes Play at ITA Midwest Regional

The Warriors are back in action at the North Georgia Tournament on Oct. 21-22.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Wayne State University men's tennis team completed play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional earlier today. Several players made deep runs, including Alexander Stage (Arslev, Denmark) winning the Singles B Draw.

SINGLES A DRAW
The Warriors opened play on Sept. 17 with five players in the top draw of singles, including the top overall seed in Dom Spicer (London, England). Along with Spicer, the Green and Gold had Joe Kelt (Ilkley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom), Niklas Karcz (Bottrop, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany), Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany) and Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany) playing in the A Draw.

Spicer looked like the top player in the tournament early on, as he made quick work of his first two opponents. He claimed a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the opening round and a 6-1, 6-0 win in the Round of 32. The competition got tougher in the Round of 16, but Spicer was still strong, claiming a two-set victory over Grand Valley State's Sean Miller.

In the quarterfinal, he played a terrific match against the defending champion of the tournament in Hillsdale's Brennan Cimpeanu. Spicer handled him, 6-0-6-4. However, his run would end there, as Spicer fell 3-6, 2-6 to Maryville's Mario Aleksic.

Grey had a solid run, collecting a 2-1 record and reaching the Round of 16. Playing as the No. 14 seed in the tournament, Grey battled to an opening round win over Ferris State's Benjamin Lortie. He edged out a 2-6, 7-6 (8), 11-9 victory. In the Round of 32, Grey had a much easier time, defeating his opponent, 6-2, 6-4. In the Round of 16, Grey played a close match with the No. 7 seed from Drury in Sylvain Garin-Michaud. Grey fell 4-6, 5-7.

Like Grey, Drenth also collected two wins before falling in the Round of 16. He opened the tournament with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Hillsdale's Tyler Conrad. In the next round, he upended Indianapolis' Louis Picaud, 7-6 (1), 6-1. Drenth would them meet Cimpeanu, where he would eventually fall in a third set super tiebreaker, 3-6, 6-3, 5-10.

Karcz earned a 1-1 record in the tournament, bowing out in the Round of 32. In his first match, he took care of business, 6-2, 6-2. In his next match, Karcz would battle to a third set super tiebreaker, but he ultimately fell, 3-6, 6-4, 10-12.

Kelt showed some promise in his matches, but he was upended in the Round of 64 and the consolation opener. Kelt dropped his opening match to Miller, 0-6, 6-4, 5-10. In the consolation bracket, he lost 4-6, 4-6.

SINGLES B DRAW
Stage was the story of the tournament for WSU, as the freshman played his way to a championship in his second career collegiate tournament. As the No. 4 seed in the draw, Stage only went to a third set twice during the entire run. In the opening round, Stage handled business, 6-2, 7-6 (1). In the Round of 32, McKendree's Lorenzo Del Biondo put a scare into Stage, but the WSU youngster would go on to win 2-6, 7-5, 10-7.

In the Round of 16, Stage had no trouble, cruising to a 6-4, 6-3 over the No. 14 seed. Stage's quarterfinal match was also a two-set win (7-5, 6-1). After dropping the first set of the semifinals, Stage fought back and won the next two to advance to the final match. He defeated UIndy's Pedro Romano Franca, 5-7, 7-5, 10-2 in the semifinals.

Stage's final match came against Davenport's Joel Mast, who advanced to the finals as an unseeded player. Stage continued his strong play, and handled Mast in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. In total, Stage went 6-0 in the tournament and was crowned the B Draw champion.

Joe Steele (Beverly Hills, Mich. / U. of Detroit Jesuit) also played in the B Draw, falling in the opening round to Northwood's Tony Henrio, 6-7 (4), 5-7. In the consolation bracket, Steele again played a tight match, but eventually fell, 6-7 (7), 3-6.

DOUBLES A DRAW
After finishing last spring season as All-Americans, Drenth and Grey came into the ITA Midwest Regional Tournament with something to prove. The duo fell in the semifinals last year but entered this year's tournament as the top overall seed. The pair opened the tournament with an 8-1 victory in the Round of 32 before earning an 8-6 win in the Round of 16.

In the quarterfinals, Drenth and Grey collected another 8-6 win, with this one coming against GVSU's team of Sebastian Arce and Unai Amilleta. The two German lefties won 8-0 in the semifinals, setting up a match against the No. 2 seeded team from Indianapolis. Drenth and Grey would fall in that match, 3-6, 5-7.

Also playing in the A Draw were Spicer and Karcz. The duo edged out a 9-7 victory over Northwood's Leon Grundstroem and Max Wild before falling 0-8 to Drury's team of Sylvain Garin-Michaud and Yaroslav Sharyy.

DOUBLES B DRAW
The Warriors had an impressive performance from a pair of freshman in the B Draw, as Stage and Kelt advanced all the way to quarterfinals. The duo was the No. 6 seed in the draw, and they opened the tournament with an 8-2 victory over Illinois-Springfield. In the Round of 16, the two freshman took care of business against Findlay, collecting an 8-3 victory. However, their run would end there, as the No. 2-seeded team from UIndy was able to just get by Kelt and Stage. The young duo fell, 8-9 (2).

FROM COACH MORROW
"A lot to be proud of. They played great. Really proud of the team. They had a real good showing. All the guys showed a lot of heart, and they made Wayne State proud."

UP NEXT
The Warriors will continue their fall season with a tournament at North Georgia. Competition will be held on October 21-22.

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Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth: 6' 3"; Freshman

Daniel Grey: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Niklas Karcz: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Dom Spicer: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

Joe Steele: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Alexander Stage: 5' 11"; Freshman

Joe Kelt: 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth
: 6' 3"; Freshman

Daniel Grey
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Niklas Karcz
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Dom Spicer
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

Joe Steele
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Alexander Stage
: 5' 11"; Freshman

Joe Kelt
: 5' 9"; Freshman