After winning their first eight GLIAC matches, the Grand Valley State University men’s tennis team had their hot start come to a halt when they were bitten by the injury bug.

On Friday, GVSU faced an upbeat Ferris State University squad that took advantage of the depleted Lakers, winning the match 7-2.

“We had several close matches, we just couldn’t seem to finish some of them,” said junior Andrew Darrell. “We probably didn’t play as well as we wanted to. Injuries are still a problem we are having, so that could have something to do with it as well.”

The loss for the Lakers brings their GLIAC losing streak to three games now, making them 8-3 in overall conference play. Ferris state improves to 12-2, and 9-2 in the GLIAC.

“We have a lot of nagging injuries that we need to take care of,” said head coach John Black. “Despite those injuries, our intensity needs to improve as well in order for us to keep improving.”

Despite an ankle injury, sophomore Quinn Slow was the only Laker to pick up a win in the singles competition, as he won 6-3, 6-7, 11-9 in the No. 6 spot.

“Quinn played really well for us this weekend,” Darrell said. “It was nice to see him step up, but it’s unfortunate that no one else was able to pick up a win as well that particular day.”

GVSU would get back to their winning ways on Saturday as they picked up 8-1 wins over both Grand Rapids Community College and Spring Arbor University, improving their overall record to 15-10 on the season.

“We played really well after dropping a disappointing match to Ferris the day prior,” said sophomore Francis Bertrand. “Once we get healthy, we should be paying at a higher level all of the time.”

Injuries still appear to be an issue for the Lakers men’s tennis team as leader and No. 1 singles Francis Bertrand continues to suffer from tendinitis.

“I’ve been sore for a while, but with time I will be fine,” Bertrand said. “This week off we have coming up will help all of us recover somewhat.”

The GVSU women’s tennis team traveled to Missouri this past weekend as they faced Drury University and Missouri St. Louis University. The Lakers faced a major climate change, as it was 85 degrees in St. Louis this past weekend – different than the 40-degree days the girls have been recently playing in.

“It was a nice change playing outside in warm weather for once,” Black said. “The weather we have had in Michigan recently didn’t allow us to prepare to play in this heat, but we adjusted well.”

They kicked off the road trip by dropping a 7-2 decision to Drury. The following day, the Lakers came back to flip the table and defeat Missouri St. Louis 7-2.

“After dropping the first doubles match, the girls picked things up and went on to win the second and third doubles matches, which was huge for us,” Black said.

Junior Nikki Shipman shined for the Lakers, as she went on to win her singles competition by winning her last two sets 6-0, 6-0 despite losing the first set of the match.

“Nikki, just like a lot of the girls on this team is continuing to improve,” Black said. “It was great to see her do well this weekend and to pick up a big win.”

The Laker women’s tennis team will be back in action this Tuesday when they travel to Holland to face Hope College at 4 p.m. The men will have a much-needed break until GLIAC tournament play starts April 19 at Northwood University.
tbaker@ lanthorn.com