Western Wayne Today

The Wayne State University men's tennis team is gearing up for a series of five matches during their spring break trip to Florida. The Warriors will first compete against Ave Maria University, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) opponent, on March 5 at the USTA National Campus. This will be followed by matches against four Division II programs, all ranked in the top 10 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).

Wayne State recently secured a 6-1 victory over Hillsdale College, improving their season record to 6-1. They won all three doubles matches and all but one singles match.

Ave Maria University currently holds a 2-2 record this season. Their head coach, Barrett Elkins, is in his fourth season with the team and has previously coached at Young Harris, Metropolitan State, and Mount St. Mary's.

The Warriors' next opponent will be Barry University on March 6. Barry has a 6-2 record this season and leads the all-time series against Wayne State 5-1. Avi Kigel serves as Barry's Director of Tennis and has led their women's team to eight national championships.

On March 7, Wayne State will face Rollins College. Rollins has a 6-3 record and holds a significant advantage in their series against Wayne State with ten wins to one loss. Jay Friedman is Rollins' head coach and has guided them to two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Wayne State will then play Embry-Riddle University on March 9 at the Crotty Tennis Complex. Embry-Riddle has a current record of 5-2 under head coach David Paschal, who has been with the team since 2005.

The final match of the trip will be against Flagler College on March 11 at the Pollard Tennis Center. Flagler holds a record of 5-1 this season. Head coach Jonas Piibor leads Flagler with an impressive coaching history including three NCAA Tournament berths.