MIDLAND, Mich. – Davenport went into their first-ever GLIAC Tournament match with the upmost confidence, despite being the underdog in the match. The Panthers were the fifth seed and the Lakers the fourth seed heading into the match. The previous match between the two teams came down to the final point to determine a winner. Davenport proved to be the better team in the second meeting between the two teams, only giving up one point to the Lakers.
Friday, April 20 at 6:45 p.m.
Final score: Davenport-5 | Grand Valley State University-1
Location: Midland, Mich.
Records: DU (14-8) | GVSU (14-8)
Doubles Competition
Marc Lerch and
Juan-Louis van Antwerpen continued their dominance in doubles together. The two won 9-8 (3) in first doubles, where they hold a record of 16-6 this season.
Jonathan Bulmer and Mattwer McClurg took care of business in second doubles, winning 8-4. Davenport lost in third doubles 8-1. The Panthers held a 2-1 advantage going into singles play.
Singles Competition
In first singles Lerch won 6-1 and 6-3. He holds a record of 11-7 on this season in that spot. McClurg earned the win in third singles off a forfeit in the middle of the second set. The third point in singles came from Johansen, who won 7-5 and 6-4 in fifth singles. Bulmer, van Antwerpen, and
Michael Digby all didn't finish their singles matches.
Coaches Corner
"We knew after the regular season loss to Grand Valley that we had left a lot on the court and were hoping for another chance to play them", described head coach
Patrick Grashorn after the match. " The guys started strong from the get go and showed maturity through a mentally challenging battle. Every time it started to look like GVSU was going to pull away in a match our guys responded and raised their level of play. We have a couple things to improve on in our match tomorrow, but I feel confident it will be a good showing".
Up Next
The Panthers advance to the semifinals of the GLIAC Tournament and face Ferris State University. The two teams will compete to see who earns a bid to the GLIAC Championship match tomorrow at 3:45 p.m.
Story by:
Devin Steiner
Picture credit: Travis Pierce
