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Wayne State University Athletics

1
Washburn WU (1-2)
4
Winner Wayne State WSUM (3-0)
Washburn WU
(1-2)
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Final
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Wayne State WSUM
(3-0)
Winner
Cedric Drenth vs. Lawrence Tech (02/01/2024)
Hyelim Shin
Cedric Drenth officially clinched the match for WSU with his win at the No. 2 singles spot vs. Washburn.

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Men's Tennis Triumphs 4-1 Over #15-Washburn at UIndy Tennis Center

The Warriors defeated the Ichabods for the second time in as many meetings.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Wayne State University men's tennis team (3-0 overall) won a third straight match to begin the spring season with a 4-1 victory over #15-Washburn (1-2 overall) in a neutral site contest on Saturday afternoon at the UIndy Tennis Center.

The Warriors and Ichabods were playing each other for the second time ever, with the first coming in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 in Orlando, Fla., last season.

DOUBLES
WSU claimed the doubles point with three wins against challenging WU pairings.

Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany) and Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany) drew one of the toughest tandems they'll see all season in Santiago Rendon and Tim Hammes, who came into the new season as the top-ranked doubles team in Division II by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).  The German team, ranked fifth in the country, posted a 6-2 win at the first flight.

The nation's No. 13-ranked duo in Dom Spicer (London, England) and Luke Laws (Sunderland, England) faced Daniel Bird and Matthew Earle at the No. 2 position.  The pair secured a 6-3 victory, which officially granted the Warriors the opening point of the contest.

Not to be outdone, WSU's third flight team of Joe Steele (Beverly Hills, Mich. / U. of Detroit Jesuit) and Emil Mikkelsen (Soenderborg, Denmark) tallied a 6-4 win against Washburn's Sebastian Pjontek and Tommaso Cecchetti.

SINGLES
Wayne State had to face six Ichabods that were ranked within the Central Region, as well as two nationally ranked singles players.  The Green and Gold answered with three victories in the four completed matches to clinch the contest.

Grey handled Pjontek, ranked 10th in Division II and first in the Central, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) in what turned out to be a close final set at the first flight.  Grey, a senior, is the 10th ranked singles player within the Midwest Region.

Playing for the first time all day at the No. 4 spot was Denali Kitayama (West Bloomfield Township, Mich. / Walled Lake Central (United States Air Force Academy)).  In what was no small feat, Kitayama registered a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) triumph over Rendon - who was ranked 11th in Division II.

Drenth and Hammes (No. 8 in the Central) went toe-to-toe for three sets, with the Washburn player nabbing the opening set 7-5.  The Warrior responded in a big way with matching 6-4 wins in the final two sets to complete the comeback performance.  His victory was the clinching point for WSU on Saturday in Indianapolis.  Drenth (No. 8 in the Midwest) has won all three of his singles matches to begin 2024.

Seeing his first action of the spring season on Saturday was Joe Kelt (Ilkley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom).  However, the sophomore dropped a 6-4, 2-6, 0-6 decision to Cecchetti at the fifth position.

Two matches went unfinished after Wayne State had already won.  Spicer and the 30th-ranked Parson split the first two sets (7-6 (7-2) for Parson in the first set and 6-4 for Spicer in the second), and the Washburn player was ahead 2-1 in the final set at the third flight.

Benjamin Hill (Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) and Earle also split the opening two sets (7-5 for WU and 6-4 for WSU), and were deadlocked 1-1 in the last set at the No. 6 spot.

FROM COACH MORROW
"We had a good win today against a really, really solid team.  The squad started very well in doubles by grabbing all three spots, and the energy that the boys brought was outstanding.  In singles, Washburn came out fighting and played us tough - they are strong and we perservered.  The all of the guys fought hard and responded, and I could not be prouder of the performance.  I am excited to be a part of this team as we continue to try and make our Athletics Department proud each and every day," said Bryan Morrow on the victory.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will finish its stay in Indianapolis with a battle against the host UIndy Greyhounds on Sunday at 10 a.m.  The Greyhounds are the seventh-ranked program in Division II.

 
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