Men's Tennis 4/10/2024 1:00:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Men's Tennis to Finish Regular-Season Home Slate by Hosting Grand Valley State and Ferris State

The Warriors are 8-0 on home court this season.

DETROIT -- The No. 22-ranked Wayne State University men's tennis squad (10-8 overall, 2-0 GLIAC) will play its final two regular-season home matches on Friday, April 12, and Sunday, April 14, against #36-Grand Valley State and #28-Ferris State. It will be the second of two weekends within the comforts of home for the Green and Gold as the final two contests of a four-match home stand.

Both matchups are once again scheduled for 10 a.m., just prior to the women's matches that make up the second half of the doubleheader each day. The Warriors will look to play outside on the WSU Tennis Courts for the first time this year if weather permits. In the case of inclement weather, the affairs will be held inside the Duchene Athletic Facility - just as they have in each home match to this point in the campaign. If outdoors, it will be the first regular-season matchup held on the new court surfaces.

The battles with GVSU and FSU will go a long way towards deciding this season's GLIAC Regular-Season Champion. Last year, that honor went to Ferris State, despite WSU winning the GLIAC Tournament. From 2009 onward, the regular-season winner and tournament winner could be two different teams in the conference.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Just two programs remain undefeated within the league this season, and they are the Bulldogs (3-0) and the Warriors (2-0). Ferris State has the lead based on wins, with the Green and Gold right behind in second position. Rounding out the standings are GVSU (2-1), Lake Superior State (1-1), Purdue Northwest (1-2), Michigan Tech (0-2), and Davenport (0-3).

The top squad at the end of the regular season will be the GLIAC Regular-Season Champion and earn the top seed for the conference tournament, which is scheduled to begin in Midland, Mich., at the Greater Midland Tennis Center on April 26. Six teams will qualify for the tournament out of the seven schools in the league. Wayne State won the GLIAC Regular-Season Championship in both 2019 and 2022 on its way to tournament victories in both campaigns.

ITA RANKINGS UPDATE
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released another round of Division II rankings this morning on Wednesday, April 10. Included were the ninth round of National Rankings and the sixth rounds of National Singles and Doubles Rankings for the current campaign. The Warriors were placed 22nd in the country by the computerized rankings, which was the same spot they were last week on April 3. The Warriors will play the other two ranked GLIAC programs this weekend in Ferris State (28th) and Grand Valley State (36th).

Individually, Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany) remained eighth in the country for another week, while Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany) dropped one position from 12th to 13th. Grey and Drenth went from third to second in doubles, which is their highest ranking of the season and only behind Tom Zeuch and Mathieu Derache from Indianapolis. Dom Spicer (London, England) and Luke Laws (Sunderland, England) also moved up one from 12th to 11th in the nation.

The next round of computerized rankings will be revealed by the ITA on Wednesday, April 17. There will be two more rounds of rankings prior to postseason action. The new rankings provided by the ITA can be found HERE, or in the links at the top of the page.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State began GLIAC action with wins over Lake Superior State (6-1) and Michigan Tech (7-0). The victory over MTU was the team's fourth 7-0 shutout of the campaign.

Several Warriors posted strong performances, but none more so than Dom Spicer, who was named GLIAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week on Wednesday morning for his 2-0 record in both singles and doubles vs. LSSU and MTU. It was his fifth time being named Player of the Week in his five-year collegiate career, and first since the 2022 campaign when he collected the honor three times on his way to being named GLIAC Player of the Year for that season.

VS. GRAND VALLEY STATE (4/12)
Grand Valley State, ranked 36th in Division II by the ITA, has an 11-5 record in 2024. The Lakers lost their most recent match at Ferris State (7-0), which snapped a five-match winning streak. GVSU is 4-4 in true road contests this season.

The Warriors and Lakers met twice last season, including during the semifinals of the GLIAC Tournament which saw WSU win 4-0 to advance to the finals. Wayne State also handled GVSU 6-1 in Grand Rapids, Mich., during the regular season on March 25. WSU has claimed the past five matchups in the all-time series to grab a 15-13 edge since February 23, 2003.

Two GVSU players are ranked nationally in singles, including Denys Zamaraiev in 60th and Sean Miller in 74th. Samantha Barr is in her fifth season as head coach and is assisted by Martin Matov, Unai Gonzalez, Leandro Tello, and Gabe Jarvis.

VS. FERRIS STATE (4/14)
Ferris State, ranked 28th in the country by the ITA, has won seven consecutive matches to enter Sunday's contest with a 12-4 ledger. The Bulldogs, last season's GLIAC Regular-Season Champions, have not lost since dropping three straight in Florida during early March.

WSU and FSU are no strangers to one another, as they always seem to battle on the highest of stages. The two programs met in last season's GLIAC Tournament finals, which the Green and Gold won 4-0 on April 23. FSU won the regular season meeting (4-3) on March 24. Ferris State is 21-8 against the Warriors since March 27, 2003.

The Bulldogs' Esunge Ndumbe (19th) and Benjamin Lortie (41st) are ranked nationally in singles, while Lortie and Jan Koupil appear in 12th for doubles. Mark Doren is currently in his fifth season as head coach in Big Rapids.

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Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth: 6' 2"; Junior

Daniel Grey: 6' 0"; Senior

Luke Laws: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Dom Spicer: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth
: 6' 2"; Junior

Daniel Grey
: 6' 0"; Senior

Luke Laws
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Dom Spicer
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student