Northwest Wayne News

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its annual postseason tennis awards, with Wayne State University men's tennis team receiving notable recognition. Daniel Grey from Wiesbaden, Germany, was named GLIAC Player of the Year for the first time in his collegiate career.

Grey was also included in the All-GLIAC First Team for both singles and doubles, partnering with Cedric Drenth from Sulzbach, Germany. Drenth joined Grey on the All-GLIAC First Team in singles as well. Dom Spicer from London, England, was selected to the All-GLIAC Second Team in singles and teamed up with Luke Laws from Sunderland, England, to form WSU's second All-GLIAC First Team doubles pair. Emil Mikkelsen from Soenderborg, Denmark, received an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention.

The conference divided recognitions between singles and doubles categories this year. Additionally, Grey won the inaugural GLIAC Sportsmanship Award.

Grey is the third different Warrior to be named GLIAC Player of the Year in three consecutive seasons after Dom Spicer in 2022 and Cedric Drenth in 2023. Ranked among the top 15 nationally in singles with a peak position of third in Division II, Grey had a strong season with a 17-5 overall record and a perfect 6-0 within the GLIAC. He secured significant victories against highly-ranked opponents including Tom Zeuch of Indianapolis and Ruben Fonga of Tiffin.

In doubles play, Grey and Drenth maintained a top 10 ranking throughout all editions of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's computerized rankings. They achieved a notable win against Santiago Rendon and Tim Hammes of Washburn.

A Wayne State player has claimed Player of the Year honors four times over five years since Niklas Karcz's award in 2019.

This marks Grey's third appearance on the All-GLIAC First Team following selections in 2021 and 2023. He also made it to the Second Team in 2022.

Drenth's inclusion on both singles and doubles First Teams is his third consecutive selection to an All-GLIAC team. He led WSU with an 18-2 singles record during regular season play at No. 2 position and matched Grey’s perfect league ledger.

Spicer was previously an All-GLIAC First Team member for two years before joining Laws for a successful doubles season at No. 2 position.

Mikkelsen received his first All-GLIAC recognition as Honorable Mention after completing eight doubles matches primarily alongside Joe Steele from Beverly Hills, Michigan.

Wayne State competes as the second seed at this weekend's GLIAC Tournament held in Midland, Michigan after achieving a 5-1 conference record.