End results in tennis depend heavily on the execution in singles and doubles, and in recent weeks the Grand Valley State University women’s tennis team has made it known that in order for the Lakers to be the best team they are capable of being this season, they must increase their aggressiveness in doubles play.

This weekend the Lakers went on the road for three GLIAC matches with the goal of playing aggressive through the entirety of each match and coming out of doubles competition with the lead.

“This weekend was all about us coming out ready to play,” said freshman Leah Dancz. “We can’t afford another loss because it really hurts our chances of going to nationals.”

On Friday, in a match that determined third place in the conference, GVSU was able to claim a 2-1 lead over Ashland University (8-3, 8-3 GLIAC) after doubles play was complete and delivered solid singles performances across the board to down the Eagles, 8-1.

Sophomores Niki Shipman and Lexi Rice used come-from-behind victories during singles play to give the Lakers a singles sweep over Ashland.

Shipman, who plays at No. 1 singles, lost her first set 3-6 before bouncing back to defeat her opponent 6-2, 6-4. Similarly, Rice, the No. 4 singles player, dropped the first set 3-6 and then came back to win sets two and three by a score of 6-3, 6-2.

“Coming back [from a deficit] is all about focus,” Shipman said. “It’s not about who is in better shape, it’s about who wants it more.”

On Saturday, GVSU continued to focus on its doubles play, winning a pair of matches to give the Lakers a 2-1 advantage over Ohio Dominican University (7-5, 6-5 GLIAC) at the start of singles play.

Rice once again turned in strong performances for GVSU, downing the Panthers in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. However, Rice was not alone; senior Alyssa Lucas and sophomore Alison Fecko defeated their counterparts 6-0, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-0, respectively, while freshman Leah Dancz remains unbeaten on the year, improving to 5-0 after her singles victory.

With two wins this weekend, GVSU improves to 9-2 on the season and 8-2 in the GLIAC.

“This weekend went very well,” said GVSU head coach John Black. “Doubles seem to be playing more as a team, moving their feet, communicating and playing more aggressive.”

On Sunday, the Lakers’ match against Lake Erie College (0-10, 0-9 GLIAC) ended in a forfeit because the Storm did not have full rosters ready to compete.

As the regular season winds down, the Lakers look to continue to perfect their doubles play on Thursday when they head to Ferris State University for a match that was rescheduled due to rain before competing in the GLIAC tournament on Oct. 21.

Although, GVSU is not overlooking Ferris State, they are ready for a chance to avenge an early season 5-4 loss to Wayne State University during the conference tournament.

“I think everyone on the team was disappointed on how we played against [Wayne State] so we’re hoping for another shot at them,” said Black.

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