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Wayne State University Athletics

4
Winner Wayne State WSUM (2-0)
3
University of Toledo TOL-M (4-4)
Winner
Wayne State WSUM
(2-0)
4
Final
3
University of Toledo TOL-M
(4-4)
Benjamin Hill vs. Lawrence Tech (02/01/2024)
Hyelim Shin
Benjamin Hill clinched the match for WSU with a three-set triumph on Friday at Toledo.

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Men's Tennis Prevails 4-3 in Tilt at Toledo

Wayne State defeated the Division I Rockets for the second time in the last three meetings.

TOLEDO, Ohio -- The Wayne State University men's tennis team (2-0 overall) capped off a successful opening weekend to the season by defeating Division I Toledo (4-4 overall) by a 4-3 score on Friday afternoon inside the Shadow Valley Tennis Club.

The Warriors downed the defending MAC Tournament Champions from a season ago for the second time in the past three seasons after falling in 13 straight matches prior to that between 2008 and 2020.

DOUBLES
Wayne State started off strong by notching the doubles point to move ahead 1-0 in the contest.

Both finished scores ended with a 6-3 result.  Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany) and Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany) downed Toledo's Poonthong Komolpisut and Pawit Sornlaksup, while Luke Laws (Sunderland, England) and Dom Spicer (London, England) handled Hanamichi Carvajal and Marko Galic.  The two WSU pairings to win were also the two tandems ranked nationally and regionally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) prior to the campaign.

The third flight match went unfinished.  Emil Mikkelsen (Soenderborg, Denmark) and Joe Steele (Beverly Hills, Mich.) were locked in a 3-3 battle with Cole Cozens and Matias Olivero when the Green and Gold captured the doubles point.

SINGLES
All six singles matches needed to be completed to find a winner on Friday afternoon.  Wayne State did just enough in claiming three of the six contests to emerge victorious.

The Rockets tied the score 1-1 after action at the first flight, in which Sornlaksup handled Grey 6-3, 6-2 in straight sets.

The Warriors notched the next two finished matches at the No. 2 and No. 5 spots.  Drenth secured a 6-3, 6-2 win over Galic at the second position, while Laws needed a first set tie-breaker to beat Olivero.  The graduate student triumphed 7-2 in the tiebreaker and 6-2 in the second set to earn WSU's third point.

With three matches remaining to finish and one point needed to win, Toledo rallied back to nab the next two points on the scoreboard.  Both ended in three-set heartbreakers.  Over at the No. 4 spot, Denali Kitayama (West Bloomfield Township, Mich. / Walled Lake Central (United States Air Force Academy)) came back to win the second set 6-4, but lost the first (6-3) and third (7-5) to Cozens.

Spicer notched a 6-3 opening set victory vs. Carvajal at the third flight, but the Rockets' player grabbed the final two sets 6-1 and 6-4.

The match thus hinged on the freshman Hill in his second collegiate singles match.  Facing Komolpisut at the No. 6 position, Hill lost the opening set 6-2 but rallied back 7-6 (7-2) to register the second.  The rookie Warrior finished the job with a 6-4 final set win to send WSU home with a triumph.

FROM COACH MORROW
"It was a great win today.  The energy in doubles was unbelievable, and we played excellent in all three spots.  All six positions competed really hard in singles, and I could not be prouder of the team.  Toledo is a really strong team and the defending MAC Champions - and the boys showed up in a big way this afternoon.  This win only makes us more excited for what's ahead this season," said head coach Bryan Morrow on the win.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will not play again until next Saturday, February 10 for a tough weekend against a pair of ranked opponents.  The Warriors will be in Indianapolis to face #15-Washburn on Saturday, the 10th, at 4 p.m., before drawing the seventh-ranked Greyhounds on Sunday, February 11 at 11 a.m.

 
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