Men's Tennis 5/9/2024 12:25:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Men's Tennis to Play First Match of NCAA Tournament Against #37-Tiffin in Midwest Regional

The Warriors will look to make some noise at the championships for a third consecutive year.

DETROIT -- The No. 20-ranked Wayne State University men's tennis program will start its NCAA Championship journey on Monday, May 13, in Big Rapids, Mich. The Warriors are the No. 3 seed for the NCAA Midwest Regional and will face #37-Tiffin, the No. 6 seed, at 2 p.m., with the winner moving on to battle either #17-Ferris State (the No. 2 seed) or #44-Grand Valley State (the No. 7 seed) on Tuesday, May 14.

Ferris State University will host this portion of the regional (Indianapolis will host the other section as the region's top seed) and matches will be played outdoors at the tennis courts of Big Rapids High School if weather permits. In the case of inclement weather, matches will be moved to the FSU Racquet & Fitness Center on the Bulldogs' campus. FSU will square off with GVSU at 10 a.m. on Monday, just prior to the affair between Wayne State and the Dragons. Tuesday's matchup between the two winners from Monday is slated for a 10 a.m. first serve.

The winner of this four-team section of the Midwest Regional, as well as the victors of the other 15 regions across the country, will advance to Altamonte Springs, Fla., and Sanlando Park for the NCAA Championship Round of 16. The Florida rounds of this year's tournament are scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, through Saturday, May 25.

Wayne State holds a 15-13 mark all-time in NCAA Tournament action, which includes last season's 3-1 championship mark with victories over Drury, Southwest Baptist, and Washburn. The Warriors are making their third straight NCAA Championship appearance and are included for the fifth time in the past six held tournaments (also competed in 2023, 2022, 2019, and 2018).

To this point in 2024, Wayne State has managed a 14-10 overall record and went 5-1 this season in the GLIAC. The team has posted an 11-4 ledger within the Midwest Region through matches played to the end of April. WSU advanced to the final round of the GLIAC Tournament but fell by a narrow 4-3 decision to Ferris State on April 28 in Midland, Mich. The Green and Gold has played Tiffin once already this season, which resulted in a 4-0 shutout triumph for the Warriors in Detroit on March 26. A full rundown of the team and individual season statistics can be found HERE.

WSU had to wait to hear its name called on Monday night during the selection show on NCAA.com, but were ultimately announced as one of the 48 bids to this season's championship. That officially made it the 14th time in school history that the men's tennis team will compete in the NCAA Tournament, as well as the eighth time under Head Coach Bryan Morrow.

In 2023, the program hosted a portion of the NCAA Midwest Regional and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals in Orlando, Fla., but lost 4-1 to Barry in that round. The Buccaneers went on to win the NCAA Championship for a fourth straight year. That performance for Wayne State came after a 2022 campaign that saw the squad compete in the national championship match against BU.

MIDWEST REGION SEEDS AND PROJECTED LINEUP
This season's format for the NCAA Midwest Regional features eight programs seeded first through eighth. The region consists of teams from the GLIAC, the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). Indianapolis is the top seed and will play No. 8 seed Findlay. Drury (the No. 4 seed) and McKendree (the No. 5 seed) will compete in the other affair at UIndy. The full list of seeds for the region is as follows -- Indianapolis (1), Ferris State (2), Wayne State (3), Drury (4), McKendree (5), Tiffin (6), Grand Valley State (7), and Findlay (8).

Below is Wayne State's projected lineup for the 2024 NCAA Championship and Midwest Regional.

SINGLES
1. Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany)
2. Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany)
3. Dom Spicer (London, England)
4. Denali Kitayama (West Bloomfield Township, Mich. / Walled Lake Central (United States Air Force Academy))
5. Luke Laws (Sunderland, England)
6. Benjamin Hill (Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
7. Emil Mikkelsen (Soenderborg, Denmark)
8. Joe Steele (Beverly Hills, Mich. / U. of Detroit Jesuit)

DOUBLES
1. Grey and Drenth
2. Laws and Spicer
3. Mikkelsen and Steele
4. Hill and Kitayama

ITA RANKINGS UPDATE
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released another round of Division II rankings on Thursday, May 2. Included were the 12th round of National Rankings and the ninth rounds of National Singles and Doubles Rankings for the current campaign. Wayne State appeared as the No. 20-ranked squad in the nation by the ITA's computerized rankings, which was a drop of two positions from the previous list revealed by the association on April 24.

Individually, Daniel Grey (fifth) and Cedric Drenth (14th) did not change from their previous rankings in singles. However, they are now the top doubles duo in Division II after being placed second in the prior three editions. It is the first time ever that the talented WSU duo topped the list in the category. Additionally, Luke Laws and Dom Spicer were also ranked nationally in 27th, down from 25th.

This round of computerized rankings will be the last until May 29, when the postseason will be completed and champions have been crowned. All new rankings provided by the ITA can be found HERE.

Stay tuned to WSUAthletics.com all weekend long for continuing coverage of both the men's and women's NCAA Midwest Regionals on the path to Altamonte Springs, Fla.

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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