Quick hits: men’s tennis, rifle club, women’s club rowing

GVSU men’s tennis sophomore Jack Geissler earns GLIAC Athlete of the Week

For the first time in his young collegiate career, Grand Valley State men’s tennis sophomore Jack Geissler was named the GLIAC Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week per a release by the league office on Tuesday, March 27.

At the No. 2 singles and doubles position, Geissler had himself quite the performances against Michigan Tech and Lake Superior State, winning all four of his matches. In singles action against Michigan Tech, Geissler won 6-1, 6-0, while adding another 6-2, 6-0 win against Lake Superior. In doubles, Geissler paired up with D.J. Colantone, as the duo won 8-2 against Michigan Tech, followed by an 8-6 win against Lake Superior.

On the season, Geissler has a 13-6 overall record in singles, going 8-4 in dual matches (2-0 against conference opponents) and 5-2 in tournaments, while going 13-6 in doubles, with a dual record of 10-4 and 3-2 in tournaments.

The Lakers are currently 10-4 (2-0 GLIAC) this spring season. The remainder of the team’s regular-season record will be against GLIAC opponents, including Northwood on Friday, March 30, and Ferris State on Saturday, March 31.

GVSU rifle club finishes third in National Championship

Continuing their year-long conquest, the Grand Valley State rifle club sent nine participants to travel down south to Columbus, Georgia, to compete in the ninth annual NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club. The event kicked off Friday, March 23, and concluded Sunday, March 25. 

In a competition against 17 other schools, the Lakers finished third overall with a 4,321-point aggregate score—the best finish in program history and a 252-point improvement from last season.

In the smallbore competition, the team of sophomores Alexander Straith, Alexander Ryan, Ethan Potts and Joseph Lentine finished third overall with a total score of 2,121 (out of 2,400). Straith finished 10th individually after posting a score of 539 (out of 600), while Ryan finished in 12th place.

During the air rifle competition, the Lakers saw similar results, placing third overall as a team with a score of 2,200 (out of 2,400). Senior captain Christian Yap carried his team, placing fourth overall with an overall score of 575 (out of 600), his career personal best. Lentine was the second-best Laker, posting a score of 546 for 28th place. 

To wrap up his collegiate career, Yap was named to the NRA Intercollegiate Club Rifle All Star Team as a member of the 1st Team Air Rifle. This is the first time a Laker has earned those honors.

GVSU women’s rowing competes in San Diego Crew Classic Regatta

To open up the spring season, the Grand Valley State women’s varsity eight+ rowing team made a 2,200 mile trek to California to compete in the San Diego Crew Classic Regatta in the Women’s Collegiate Varsity DII/III/Club event from Thursday, March 22, through Sunday, March 25.

The Lakers finished the weekend regatta with a second-place finish, improving from their third-place finish in the same regatta last season. 

In the final heat on Sunday, the Lakers placed second with a time of 7:27.1 behind University of California San Diego, which took first with a time of 7:24.4.

The Lakers’ next regatta will be their annual host event: the 23rd annual Don Lubbers Cup Regatta on Spring Lake. The event will begin Friday, April 13, and conclude Sunday, April 15.