The Wayne State University men’s tennis team is set to face Tiffin University on Thursday, March 20, at the Doris J. & Donald L. Duchene, Sr. Athletic Facility in Detroit. The match is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM and marks the final non-conference event before Wayne State enters Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.
Recently, the Warriors returned from a trip to Florida where they secured a record of 2-3. During this trip, they achieved victories against No. 13-ranked Rollins and Ave Maria from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). In their encounter with Rollins College, Wayne State won 4-3 thanks to Tom Wasner’s decisive performance against Fabian Gusic with scores of 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Against Ave Maria University, Wayne State emerged victorious in singles matches with a score of 5-1; doubles matches were canceled due to bad weather.
Tiffin University comes into this match with an 8-7 record and has recently won two consecutive matches against Marian University and John Carroll University. Historically, Wayne State has had success against Tiffin, winning the last eight meetings including a close 4-3 victory in last year’s NCAA Midwest Regional.
Phil Conley leads Tiffin as head coach for his 16th season and holds a career record of 209 wins and 170 losses. He also coaches the women’s tennis team at Tiffin with a record of 233 wins and 140 losses.
According to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll released on March 12, Wayne State is ranked as the No.13 team nationally. In singles rankings, Cedric Drenth holds the No.14 spot while Drenth along with George Day ranks as the No.15 doubles team.
