GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers embarked on a new journey today, hosting their first-ever GLIAC match. Davenport played Wayne State University and beat the Warriors 5-4 in an exciting match. The Warriors held a 4-2 lead with three singles matches still in play. Davenport won all three of the remaining matches to take the 5-4 victory!
 
Saturday, March 24 at 10:00 a.m.
Final score: Davenport-5 | Wayne State-4
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Records: DU (7-4, 1-0) | WSU (7-8, 0-1)
 
Doubles Competition
Davenport found themselves in a deficit early in the match. The duo of Marc Lerch and Juan-Louis van Antwerpen, and Matthew McClurg and Jonathan Bulmer fell in doubles 8-5. Davenport cut the deficit to a one-point lead after Remy Johansen and Max Hartman won in third doubles 8-6.
 
Singles Competition
Bulmer had the quickest match in singles, losing 6-2 and 6-0 in fourth singles. Davenport gained a point back when Johansen finished next in singles, winning 6-3 and 6-3 in fifth singles. The Panthers found themselves in dire need of a point after McClurg lost in third singles 6-1 and 6-2 to give the Warriors a 4-2 advantage. The third point for DU in the match came from Lerch, who won 7-5 and 6-3 in first singles. The momentum continued to build for the Panthers after Antwerpen won in two sets in second singles. With the match tied 4-4 Michael Digby came through with a 6-1 and 6-4 victory in sixth singles to help DU win their first-ever GLIAC match.


 
Coaches Corner
After the match, Head Coach Patrick Grashorn said the following. "Doubles was tough, but even throughout. Three doubles was tight all the way with Max holding in the end for the win. After giving up a 5-2 lead at one doubles, I was not sure what the response would be heading into singles for Antwerpen and Lerch. The guys reset and led the way into singles. When Remy won in singles, we could feel the momentum shift. After Lerch and Antwerpen won, Mike had just begun his singles match with the overall score being 4-4. Very proud to see Digby composed through his match and stay cool in a high-pressure situation. We have some areas to work on and we look forward to another GLIAC challenge tomorrow"
 
Up Next
Davenport hosts another GLIAC team Sunday, March 25 at 3 p.m. The Panthers will play Tiffin University at the MVP Sportsplex in Grand Rapids.
 
Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Tyler Triemstra