Northwest Wayne News

Wayne State University's men's tennis team secured a place in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 after defeating Grand Valley State University 4-1 in the NCAA Midwest Regional final. The match took place at Big Rapids High School, where Wayne State's No. 20-ranked team faced off against the No. 44-ranked Lakers.

The Warriors, seeded third, narrowly won against Tiffin with a score of 4-3 on Monday, overcoming rain delays and a late start. In contrast, GVSU defeated Ferris State 4-0 earlier that day. This victory marked Wayne State's third win over Grand Valley State this season.

Wayne State will advance to Altamonte Springs, Florida for the NCAA Round of 16 at Sanlando Park. This is the third consecutive year they have reached this stage of the tournament. Previously, they played in the NCAA Quarterfinals last season and competed in the NCAA Championship Match against Barry University in 2022.

In doubles play, Wayne State secured an early lead by winning both matches at first and second flights. Cedric Drenth and Daniel Grey achieved a 6-3 victory over Freddy Cossio and Sean Miller. Meanwhile, Luke Laws and Dom Spicer won their match against Lucas Gonzalez and Victor Lopes with a score of 6-1.

Joe Steele and Emil Mikkelsen were leading their doubles match when it was abandoned with no impact on the result.

In singles competition, Denali Kitayama quickly avenged his previous day's loss by winning his match with identical set scores of 6-0, 6-2 against Lopes. Grand Valley's Ruiz earned their only point by defeating Laws.

Drenth defeated Sean Miller with two sets of 6-3 scores while Spicer triumphed over Gonzalez at the third flight with scores of 6-4, 6-2.

Two matches remained unfinished: Grey was leading Zamaraiev after one set but trailing in another; Mikkelsen lost his first set to Cossio but led briefly before play stopped.

Wayne State will face an undetermined opponent on May 21st as part of further regional action scheduled at Sanlando Park during either morning or noon hours.