Men's Tennis 1/31/2024 3:00:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Men's Tennis to Open Season with Back-to-Back Matches

The Warriors' bid for a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance begins on Thursday.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's tennis squad begins its 2024 spring regular season slate with a pair of matches on back-to-back days. The Warriors will host NAIA member Lawrence Tech on Thursday, February 1, at 10 a.m., before traveling to play Division I Toledo on Friday, February 2, at 1 p.m.

WSU will look to post a third consecutive season of making the NCAA Tournament. The last two seasons have been quite successful for Wayne State head coach Bryan Morrow with the Green and Gold. Wayne State won the GLIAC regular season title and conference tournament in 2022, before advancing to the NCAA Division II National Championship match against Barry and finishing runner-up in the country for the campaign. WSU went 23-10 in 2023, while defeating Ferris State to win the GLIAC Tournament for a second consecutive season. The Warriors won their portion of the Midwest Regional and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals in Orlando, Fla.

Coach Morrow will be starting his 16th season at the helm of the men's tennis program on Thursday.

"We are super excited for the season. We have nine guys on the team, and six of them will be playing in their final seasons with us. It'll be bittersweet with some of the careers these guys have had, but we're looking forward to one last year with all of them. If we can stay healthy, I feel really good about where we're at entering the season. I think we are poised to play some excellent tennis in the next month-plus - we just have to get healthy. Overall, I could not be more excited about this team. The leadership has been amazing and the talent level is high, so we're looking forward to having a great year," said Coach Morrow about his thoughts on the new season.

SEASON PREVIEW
The Warriors' roster of nine includes eight returning athletes, including Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany), Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany), Joe Kelt (Ilkley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom), Denali Kitayama (West Bloomfield Township, Mich. / Walled Lake Central), Luke Laws (Sunderland, England), Emil Mikkelsen (Soenderborg, Denmark), Dom Spicer (London, England), and Joe Steele (Beverly Hills, Mich.). The newcomer to the squad is freshman Benjamin Hill (Duren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany).

The Green and Gold have a challenging schedule once again in 2024, with nine games scheduled against seven different opponents ranked in the top 25 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Division II Men's Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll. Those opponents include Barry (February 16 and March 12), Flagler (March 9), Indianapolis (February 11 and March 3), Rollins (March 7), Washburn (February 10), Ferris State (April 14), and Embry-Riddle (March 10). An eighth team, Tiffin, received votes in the poll. WSU will battle the Dragons on March 26, in Detroit.

Coach Morrow is looking forward to some of the opportunities the challenging schedule brings. "It is a very tough schedule this season. We play numerous difficult teams in the country, so the challenges will be early and often and we'll see how the guys perform. We'll be at our second Indoor National Tournament in Indianapolis this season, which includes the top eight teams in the country. It is an honor for us to be there, and we are looking forward to that weekend. We have plenty of home matches this season against teams in our region. This is the first season that Indy will be traveling to Detroit, so I am excited to host them. Tiffin, Grand Valley State, and Ferris State are all strong teams coming here as well - so it will be fun to play those tough matches at home."

Wayne State was selected eighth in the nation by the ITA in the same coaches poll. Additionally, the organization previously released National Singles, National Doubles, and Regional Rankings on November 15. Drenth and Grey were first in the Midwest in doubles, while fifth nationally. Drenth was eighth in the region for singles, with Grey 10th. Spicer and Laws appeared third in the Midwest for doubles and 13th across Division II. Spicer also clocked in 14th for singles within the region.

VS. LAWRENCE TECH (2/1)
The Blue Devils went 8-13 a season ago despite playing five Division II programs and four GLIAC schools. That included a meeting with Wayne State, which the Warriors won 6-1 on February 3, 2023. The Green and Gold are 6-0 against its Southfield opponent since 2016-17. LTU is 1-0 on the new season following a 7-0 shutout of Cedarville on September 23 last fall.

Lawrence Tech is coached by Wayne State alum Griffin Mertz in his second season as head coach. Mertz was on the WSU men's tennis team from 2016 through 2019 and won 102 matches between singles and doubles across his time in Detroit. He was a three-time All-GLIAC selection (two Second Team and one Honorable Mention) and a three-time ITA Scholar Athlete. Mertz is assisted by Graduate Coach Lukas Obel.

"Lawrence Tech is a good team and it'll be nice to get our first match done with them to open the season," said Coach Morrow on Thursday's tilt.

AT TOLEDO (2/2)
Toledo enters the match on Saturday at the Shadow Valley Tennis Club with a 4-3 record after having started its season during January. The Rockets have won their last two contests to jump over .500.

WSU and UT have met 15 times since the 2007-08 campaign, all in Ohio. The Warriors are 1-14, with the win coming in a 4-3 decision on February 4, 2022. The Warriors nearly posted back-to-back victories over its Division I foe, but came up short in a 4-3 loss last season on February 9, 2023. The narrow defeat ultimately came against a team in UT that won the MAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Toledo is coached by veteran Al Wermer in his 29th season. He is the winningest men's coach in any sport at the University of Toledo with 321 victories. Wermer was named MAC Coach of the Year for his team's 18-6 record last year. He is assisted by Graduate Coach Thomas Brennan.

"Toledo is always strong and we are looking forward to seeing where we're at with this contest," said Coach Morrow on Friday's match-up.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth: 6' 2"; Junior

Daniel Grey: 6' 0"; Senior

Benjamin Hill: 6' 0"; Freshman

Joe Kelt: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Denali Kitayama: 5' 7"; Senior

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

Daniel Grey
: 6' 0"; Senior

Benjamin Hill
: 6' 0"; Freshman

Joe Kelt
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Denali Kitayama
: 5' 7"; Senior

Luke Laws
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Emil Mikkelsen
: 5' 11"; Senior

Dom Spicer
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Joe Steele
: 6' 0"; Senior