Wayne State University Athletics

Brendan Baker

Daniel Grey (left) and Cedric Drenth (right) earned a spot at the ITA Cup by being the doubles champions at the ITA Midwest Regional.

Men's Tennis 10/2/2023 3:39:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Men's Tennis Wins Pair of Brackets During Final Day of ITA Midwest Regional

Cedric Drenth and Daniel Grey were victorious in doubles Flight A, while Joe Kelt won singles Flight B.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- It was a celebration day for some during the final day of action at the ITA Midwest Regional on Monday afternoon, and a few members of the Wayne State University men's tennis team earned that spotlight for bracket-winning performances at the GVSU Tennis Courts.

Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany) and Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany) were the champions of doubles Flight A. After proving triumphant over three doubles duos on Saturday and Sunday to advance to the semifinals, the Warrior team posted a victory in their semifinals contest over the fourth-seeded Benjamin Lortie and Jan Koupil from Ferris State. The top-seeded Drenth and Grey won 8-4 to earn a spot in the finals.

Coincidentally, another WSU tandem was battling in the other semifinals match of Flight A -- Luke Laws (Sunderland, England) and Dom Spicer (London, England). As the eighth-seed, the two graduate students collected an 8-2 win vs. McKendree's Luka Kalenic and Vishnu Prasad.

The semifinals results meant that the two Green and Gold teams had to face each other in the finals with an automatic spot in the upcoming ITA Cup reserved for the champion. Drenth and Grey avenged their defeat in last season's doubles final with a 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 10-3 win over their WSU teammates to clinch the automatic qualification.

The two Germans will represent the Warriors for a second straight season at the ITA Cup -- this season being held from October 12 through 16 at the Rome Tennis Center.

For their exceptional effort, Laws and Spicer will be under consideration for an at-large bid. According to the ITA, there are a minimum of 8 at-large selections in singles and doubles. Of the 8 at-large selections, 4 selections will be made from the pool of regional finalists. The four finalists with the highest national ranking (inside the top 20) from the previous year will first be selected for at-large spots. If national rankings do not exist for four regional finalists or are outside the top 20, the selection will then be determined by quality wins, such as nationally ranked wins from the regional tournaments.

In singles, two other Warriors had to duel each other in Flight B. Benjamin Hill (Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) and Joe Kelt (Ilkley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom) each won their first three matches to be able to go against each other in the semifinals. It needed three-sets and a super-tiebreaker, but the sophomore Kelt was able to win the first (6-2) and third (10-4) sets to advance to the finals. Hill, a freshman at his first ITA Midwest Regional, grabbed a 6-3 win in the second set of his contest vs. his teammate.

Kelt went on to become the overall champion of singles Flight B with his 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) straight sets triumph over Indianapolis' David Simeonov.

AJ Duggan (Saginaw, Mich.) competed in the finals of singles Flight C on Monday. However, he was defeated by Stephen Claassen of Grand Valley State despite a strong effort. Claassen won 6-1, 4-6, 10-6 in an affair that required the full distance.

The ITA Midwest Regional was hosted all weekend by Grand Valley State University. Matches were primarily being played at the GVSU Tennis Courts, including every semifinals and finals match on the final day of action. Contests were also held at Hudsonville High School and Unity Christian High School.

The tournament was one of the ITA's 63 Small College Regional Championships for 2023. It brought together athletes from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC).

Final Totals:
Drenth: 1-2 singles, 5-0 doubles
Duggan: 4-1 singles
Grey: 2-1 singles, 5-0 doubles
Hill: 4-1 singles, 1-1 doubles
Kelt: 6-0 singles. 2-1 doubles
Laws: 1-1 singles, 4-1 doubles
Emil Mikkelsen (Soenderborg, Denmark): 3-1 singles, 1-1 doubles
Spicer: 2-1 singles, 4-1 doubles
Joe Steele (Beverly Hills, Mich.): 1-1 singles, 2-1 doubles

As a team, the nine Warriors competing at the ITA Midwest Regional posted a 24-9 singles record and 12-3 doubles ledger.

Up next on the schedule is the aforementioned ITA Cup at Berry College's Rome Tennis Center from October 12 through 16. Selections for the ITA Cup will be announced no later than Friday, October 6.

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Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth: 6' 2"; Junior

AJ Duggan: 5' 9"; Graduate Student

Daniel Grey: 6' 0"; Senior

Benjamin Hill: 6' 0"; Freshman

Joe Kelt: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Luke Laws: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Emil Mikkelsen: 5' 11"; Senior

Dom Spicer: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Joe Steele: 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth
: 6' 2"; Junior

AJ Duggan
: 5' 9"; Graduate Student

Daniel Grey
: 6' 0"; Senior

Benjamin Hill
: 6' 0"; Freshman

Joe Kelt
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Luke Laws
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Emil Mikkelsen
: 5' 11"; Senior

Dom Spicer
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Joe Steele
: 6' 0"; Senior