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Wayne State University Athletics

0
Purdue Northwest PNW-M (6-8, 3-4)
7
Winner Wayne State WSUM (18-9, 5-1)
Purdue Northwest PNW-M
(6-8, 3-4)
0
Final
7
Wayne State WSUM
(18-9, 5-1)
Winner
Niklas Karcz and Ryan Okonski
Niklas Karcz (left) and Ryan Okonski (right) were celebrated on Senior Day vs. PNW and played together to earn a 6-3 doubles win.

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

Men's Tennis Wins 7-0 on Senior Day

The Warriors secured a first-round bye in next weekend's conference tournament.

DETROIT -- The No. 14-ranked Wayne State University men's tennis team (18-9 overall, 5-1 GLIAC) bested Purdue Northwest (6-8 overall, 3-4 GLIAC) by a 7-0 score on Saturday at the Duchene Athletic Facility for the squad's eighth consecutive victory.

The Green and Gold celebrated Senior Day, with Niklas Karcz (Bottrop, North Rhine-Westphalia) and Ryan Okonski (Stevensville, Mich.) being celebrated for their contributions to the men's tennis program over their careers.

The Warriors also ensured themselves of a first-round bye (second overall seed) in next week's GLIAC Tournament with the triumph.

DOUBLES
WSU made quick work of the Pride in doubles, winning all three matches.

The third-ranked pairing of Cedric Drenth (Sulzbach, Germany) and Daniel Grey (Wiesbaden, Germany) recorded a 6-3 win over Samuel Dickson and Joao Martins at the top flight, while Dom Spicer (London, England) and Emil Mikkelsen (Soenderborg, Denmark) continued solid doubles play with a 6-4 victory at the second spot vs. Luis Alvear and Luca Kirchhoff.

The celebrated seniors in Karcz and Okonski played together for the first time this fall or spring, and notched a well-earned 6-3 win at the third position over Aidan Beilke and Paul Hawes.  The win was Okonski's first doubles triumph in two attempts this spring.

SINGLES
Grabbing all six points in singles play, the Green and Gold dispatched of Purdue Northwest and showed their readiness for postseason play. 

All of the five completed matches were won in straight sets.  The sixth match was called a win for Grey early at the No. 2 spot when Dickson retired.  The Warrior junior was ahead 5-1 and received the early victory.

Drenth, the 26th-ranked singles player, downed Kirchhoff at the top flight by scores of 6-2, 6-2.

Meanwhile, Karcz nabbed a 6-3, 6-3 win against Martins at the No. 3 position.  The outgoing graduate student capped off a strong weekend in which he claimed his 100th and 101st singles victories and celebrated Senior Day with his teammates.

Winning in a near-shutout effort was Spicer at the fourth spot.  The No. 59-ranked player won 6-2 vs. Alvear in the opening set, then shutout his Pride opponent 6-0 to claim his fifth singles victory in a row.

After not seeing the court in doubles, Denali Kitayama (West Bloomfield Township, Mich.) and Luke Laws (Sunderland, England) both tallied wins for themselves and their team.  Kitayama won 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot vs. Hawes,and Laws almost completely shutout Beilke at the sixth position, posting a 6-1, 6-0 triumph to improve to 12-8 in dual matches this spring.

FROM COACH MORROW
"It was a great day celebrating Niklas [Karcz] and Ryan [Okonski] today and a great win for our team.  The guys played yet another strong match this morning," said Bryan Morrow.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will await its opponent for the GLIAC Tournament next week.  As the second-seed, the Warriors will play the winner of the first round three vs. six-seed match, which will be Grand Valley State vs. Lake Superior State.  The conference tournament runs from the Friday, April 21 to Sunday, April 23 at the Greater Midland Tennis Center.

 
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