Wayne State University Athletics

Ferris State Athletics

Men's Tennis 5/17/2024 8:49:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Men's Tennis To Battle Washburn In NCAA Finals Round Of 16

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's tennis team (16-10 overall) received the No. 11 seed by the NCAA and will face sixth-seeded Washburn University (20-4 overall) in the opening round of the NCAA Finals on Tuesday at 12 p.m. All four finals round (First, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final) will be held at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

This will be WSU's third consecutive trip to the NCAA Finals. In 2022, the fourth-seeded Warriors defeated Southern New Hampshire (4-0), Embry Riddle (4-3) and top-seeded Columbus State (4-3), before falling to Barry (4-1) in the national championship match. A year ago, the fifth-seeded Warriors downed 12th-seeded Washburn (4-2) prior to losing 4-1 to eventual national champion Barry in the quarterfinals.

PREVIEWING THE WARRIORS
The Warriors have won 10 of their last 12 matches with the only blemishes being a pair of 4-3 setbacks to Ferris State (one in the GLIAC regular season and one in the GLIAC Tournament Championship match). After defeating both Hillsdale (6-1) and Indianapolis (4-1) at home in early March, WSU faced a challenging schedule on spring break and were upended by #15-Rollins (4-0), #6-Flagler (4-1), #33-Embry-Riddle (5-2), and #5-Barry (6-1). Included in the aforementioned 10 victories, were a pair of NCAA Midwest Regional triumphs earlier this week against Tiffin (4-3) and Grand Valley State (4-1).

WSU is led by GLIAC Player of the Year Daniel Grey, who is ranked fifth nationally in singles. He had won eight straight matches at No. 1 singles before dropping his last two completed matches. Grey and first doubles partner Cedric Drenth are ranked No. 1 by the ITA. The duo has won 12 of its last 13 matches. Drenth is ranked No. 14 nationally in singles and has won his last 13 matches, all at the second flight.

Dom Spicer has won nine of his last 10 matches at No. 3 singles, and has combined with doubles partner Luke Laws to win three of their last four completed doubles matches. The pair is ranked 27th nationally in the most recent ITA rankings. Denali Kitayama is 6-5 in his last 11 matches at No. 4 singles. However, four of the five setbacks were in three sets.

Emil Mikkelsen and Joe Steele have been victorious in three of their last four completed matches at third doubles. Mikkelsen has compiled a 6-3 mark in singles since spring break, playing at both the No. 5 and No. 6 flights. Freshman Benjamin Hill has a 2-6 singles mark, primarily at the fifth flight, since spring break.

Link to Wayne State Stats

PREVIEWING WASHBURN
The Ichabods have won their last five matches since a 4-3 setback to Southern Arkansas on April 21st.

Tim Hammes was selected as the Player to Watch in the Central Region by the ITA. Hammes, a junior, was named the Central Region Rookie of the Year after the 2021-22 season. This year, he has a 19-7 mark in singles play, while ranking No. 13 in the nation. In doubles, Hammes has a 22-11 record, which includes the ITA Cup Doubles National Championship in the fall with Santiago Rendon. This spring he has a 9-1 record with Matthew Earle at No. 1 and the duo are ranked No. 10 in the nation.

Link to Washburn Stats

SERIES HISTORY
In addition to last year's match-up in the NCAA Round of 16, WSU and Washburn faced off in Indianapolis on Feb. 10, 2024. The Warriors claimed the doubles point with victories at all three flights. In singles competition, Wayne State earned triumphs at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4, with Washburn winning at No. 5. Both the No. 3 and No. 6 singles matches went unfinished as the Warriors won 4-1.

UP NEXT
The winner of the Wayne State vs. Washburn match on Tuesday will advance to the national quarterfinals to face the winner of the #3-Saint Leo vs. Queens (NY) match at noon on Wednesday (May 22nd).

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Players Mentioned

Cedric Drenth: 6' 2"; Junior

Daniel Grey: 6' 0"; Senior

Benjamin Hill: 6' 0"; Freshman

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

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