Men's Tennis 3/5/2024 11:00:00 AM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Men's Tennis to Embark on Five-Match Spring Break Trip Across Florida

WSU will compete against four Division II teams and a Division I program between March 6 and March 12.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's tennis program is set to play five matches across seven days as part of its Spring Break trip throughout the state of Florida. The Warriors will start the road trip with a neutral site contest vs. Division I Sacred Heart on Wednesday, March 6, before playing four Division II programs in Rollins (Thursday, March 7), Flagler (Saturday, March 9), Embry-Riddle (Sunday, March 10), and Barry (Tuesday, March 12).

Start times and locations for the five matches are as follows -
SHU - 2:30 p.m. at USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
Rollins - 3 p.m. at Copeland Stadium in Winter Park, Fla.
Flagler - 2 p.m. at USTA National Campus.
ERAU - 1 p.m. at Crotty Tennis Complex in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Barry - 10 a.m. at Buccaneer Tennis Center in Miami Shores, Fla.

The match-ups against the Pioneers and Saints at the USTA National Campus will be neutral site affairs. The campus was the site of last season's NCAA Tournament, where the Green and Gold advanced to the quarterfinals.

Wayne State enters Wednesday's battle against Sacred Heart on a three-match winning streak, including a victory over Indianapolis last Sunday for the first time since 2012.

NOTE: As of March 29, the Sacred Heart match was deemed an exhibition.

ITA RANKINGS UPDATE
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association will be releasing a plethora of new rankings on Wednesday, March 6. The association will provide its fourth round of National Rankings, in which WSU was eighth in each of the first three polls. There will also be the first National Singles and Doubles lists of the spring season. The ITA has not released new rankings in those categories since the end of the fall tournament slate on November 15.

In the most recent National Rankings from February 28, all four Division II opponents on the trip for the Warriors were nationally ranked. Barry claimed the top spot, while Flagler was third behind Saint Leo. Rollins appeared in ninth behind WSU in eighth, while Embry-Riddle was slotted in 16th out of 25.

New rankings provided by the ITA can be found HERE.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State earned a pair of home victories this past week against Hillsdale and Indianapolis. The Warriors defeated the Chargers 6-1 last Friday, before downing the sixth-ranked Greyhounds by a 4-1 tally on Sunday.

The victory over UIndy was perhaps the biggest triumph of the season thus far for the Green and Gold, as the program won over the Greyhounds for the first time since 2012. The team also avenged their previous two losses to Indianapolis this season, which were both held inside the UIndy Tennis Center.

WAYNE STATE
The Warriors are 6-4 overall with all four setbacks coming to nationally-ranked opponents (a pair of 4-1 scores at Indianapolis, 4-3 vs. Barry, and 4-3 vs. West Florida).

Junior Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany) is 13-3 in singles play, including an 8-0 mark at the second flight. Senior Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany) is 11-3 overall, while primarily playing at the No. 1 spot. Freshman Benjamin Hill (Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) has compiled an 11-4 mark playing at both the fifth and sixth singles spot.

Drenth and Grey have a 20-5 doubles record at the top flight, while graduate students Luke Laws (Sunderland, England) and Dom Spicer (London, England) are 19-6 at No. 2 doubles. Head coach Bryan Morrow has used five different combinations at third doubles.

VS. SACRED HEART (3/6)
Wayne State and Sacred Heart will meet at the USTA National Campus on Wednesday, March 6 at 2:30 p.m. The Pioneers are a Division I member of the Northeast Conference. SHU enters Tuesday's match with Saint Joseph's University sporting a 3-6 overall record. However, two of those wins have been in the last two match-ups against Wagner (7-0) and Siena College (4-3).

The two programs have met just once in recent memory on March 4, 2020. The Green and Gold won that day by a 4-3 score in Orlando.

The Pioneers are coached by Mike Guastelle. He returned to the head coaching role at Sacred Heart in January 2022, after previously serving in that position from 1994 to 2005. Guastelle is assisted by Miro Lucic and Chip Moore.

AT ROLLINS (3/7)
WSU and Rollins will play at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 7, at Copeland Stadium. The Tar have a perfect 8-0 record on the line following their victory on Monday over the University of Charleston.

The Warriors' 4-3 win at Rollins on March 14 last season was their first victory over their Winter Park opponents in 10 tries dating back to March 8, 2012. All 10 matches have been on the road for the Green and Gold.

The Tar are coached by Jay Friedman in his third season at the helm of the program. He was hired to the role prior to the 2021-22 campaign.

VS. FLAGLER (3/9)
The Warriors will head back to the USTA National Campus for a date with Flagler on Saturday, March 9, at 2:00 p.m. The Saints are 5-2 and will play two teams (Ferris State and Belmont Abbey) prior to battling WSU. Flagler, along with Wayne State, was one of eight teams at the ITA National Indoor Championship in Indianapolis. FC finished third following a 4-0 shutout of Columbus State.

The Green and Gold have met up with Flagler just once recently - also at the ITA National Indoor Championship. WSU downed the Saints 4-3 in the first round affair in Indianapolis on February 17, 2023.

FC is coached by Jonas Piibor in his third season. Prior to Flagler, he was the Head Coach at Gonzaga University from 2018 to 2021. Piibor is assisted by Brian Washburn.

AT EMBRY-RIDDLE (3/10)
Next on the road swing for the squad is a trip to Daytona Beach, Fla., and Embry-Riddle on Sunday, March 10, at 1 p.m. ERAU is 4-1 and will face two schools (Wingate and Mississippi College) at home prior to playing WSU.

Wayne State and the Eagles have split four matches with one another since March 5, 2020. The Warriors' two wins came during the 2022 season on March 14 and May 19, the second of which was in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Both scores ended with a 4-3 tally.

Embry-Riddle is coached by David Paschal in his 20th season. He became the head coach in August 2004. Paschal is assisted by Juan Ortiz Couder, Alex Martinez Roca, and Alexis Guedy.

VS. BARRY (3/12)
The Green and Gold will finish its trek by squaring off with perennial championship favorites in Barry on Tuesday, March 12. The Buccaners have won the NCAA Championship each of the last four times. Barry will play four matches vs. Charleston, Wingate, and Belmont Abbey (twice) before dueling with Wayne State.

The two programs are no strangers to one another in recent years, as they have played five times since March 17, 2022 - including once this season during the ITA National Indoor Championship. WSU claimed victory once in the first meeting on March 17, 2022 (4-3).

BU is coached by Thomas Hipp in his third season in Miami Shores, Fla. He is assisted by Fred Bonal, Kern Pedersen, Vincent Versier, and Martin Gutierrez.

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Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth: 6' 2"; Junior

Daniel Grey: 6' 0"; Senior

Benjamin Hill: 6' 0"; Freshman

Luke Laws: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Dom Spicer: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth
: 6' 2"; Junior

Daniel Grey
: 6' 0"; Senior

Benjamin Hill
: 6' 0"; Freshman

Luke Laws
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Dom Spicer
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student