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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport men's and women's tennis teams will resume their regular season on Saturday when they play in Joliet, IL against the St. Francis Fighting Saints. The last time the teams laced up the sneakers was back on September 29 for the men and October 20 for the women. Heading into their spring season, the men boast a 3-1 overall record while the women are 2-3. The DU men will host Ferris State on February 10 and women on February 16 in their last match before heading to Florida for their annual spring break trip.

Davenport tennis gets back into its regular season this weekend after a three month break from matches. Both the men's and women's teams will travel to just outside of Chicago where they will face St. Francis in a pair of dual matches. The stretch begins a busy spring for the teams under head coach Patrick Grashorn and we caught up with him to reflect on the winter and what the teams have in store for this spring.
 
It is the first match of the "spring" season, what kind of expectations do you have for your teams? “I expect both teams to start of the season with high energy. They've been playing each other for weeks and finally being able to compete against someone you don't share a room with will be a welcome change of pace. The key will be focusing that energy properly to play well. I think we are ready to do that this weekend.”

How are the roster battles coming together? “Both rosters are being finalized this week. We have tremendous depth of the men's side. I would put our 7-9 guys up against any others in the country. Unfortunately we only get to start 6 at singles so this week's goal is to clarify spots 4-6. The women's lineup is also a work in progress with many close challenge matches. Whatever we roll out on Saturday, I'm confident in any of the girls at any of the spots.” 

What kinds of things was the team able to work on in the winter? “We spent much of the past few months working on fitness and strength. More recently, we've been focusing on point strategy in preparation for matches where a point here and there can make the difference to the overall result.”
 
Davenport will play one more match before heading to Florida for their annual spring break trip as they host Ferris State on February 10. The Panthers' first WHAC matches will be on March 16 when they travel south to play Northwestern Ohio.
 
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