Box Score | Video Highlights | Photo Gallery

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Playing their first match against a fellow NAIA Top-25 ranked opponent proved to be thrilling for the Davenport Men's Tennis team as they pulled out a 5-4 comeback win over No. 25 Spring Arbor. The 24^th ranked Panthers fought back from a 2-1 deficit after doubles to win four of the six singles matches to take the non-conference showdown and the victory lifts them to 16-9 on the season. DU will host Calvin on Thursday before playing host to Huntington (Ind.) on Friday.

Davenport, which moved into the NAIA Top-25 for the first time in program history last week, played their first match while ranked against another Top-25 foe on Tuesday when they welcomed in Spring Arbor University. The Cougars got the early edge as they pulled out identical 8-6 matches at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles but the Panthers were able to grab a point at No. 3 behind the team of Tyler Chambers and Zac Chambers as they won 8-3.

Needing at least four wins to pull out the match, DU slowly chipped away at the lead and got wins from Tyler Chambers at No. 4 (6-4, 6-3), Christian Woods at No. 5 (6-4, 6-0) and Matheus Moreira de Carvalho at No. 6 (6-4, 6-1).

SAU grabbed the top two singles points to bring the match to a tie at 4-4 heading into the final match with Zac Chambers on the court, Chambers took the opening set 6-3 and cruised in the second 6-2 to get Davenport the final point  and grab the win.

The victory lifts Davenport to 16-9 on the season as they have won seven of their last nine matches overall heading into a home match against Calvin College on Thursday and a home match against Huntington on Friday.
 
Post-Match Quote – Head coach Patrick Grashorn

“This was a match we've had starred since the beginning of the season and especially after Spring Arbor and DU were placed side by side in the rankings. We've been playing great doubles all year and knew that is where we could set the tone early. Unfortunately we came out tight and instead of adjusting to the outdoor conditions, the guys tried to force things. Even though we had some momentum from Christian's win shortly after doubles, it felt like things were getting out of hand early on in singles.

Tyler came back from 2-5 down in the first set to win and shift things our way. By chance we ended up with Zac going on last with the match tied at 4-4. He started down two breaks at 0-3 but then caught fire and won 11 games in a row before closing the match out 6-2 in the second set. It's always great to see our guys step up big when needed and this is the second time for Zac this year.”
  
 
 
 
Follow Davenport Athletics on: FACEBOOK | TWITTER | You Tube