Grand Valley State University men’s and women’s tennis teams exhibited energy at the Northwood Invitational, a two-day event last Friday and Saturday. The women’s team set the tone, only dropping a single match between the two days, while the men’s side delivered several gritty wins of their own at the Greater Midland Tennis Center.

Day one in Midland, the Laker women were untouchable. From the first struck-ball, they dictated play and walked off the courts undefeated. Sophomore Natasha Sengphrachanh set the tone early, cruising through her opener with quick rallies and clean finishes. Later in the day, she continued to find her rhythm, storming past her second opponent without dropping more than a handful of games.

Freshman Mischa Briggs also showcased consistency and toughness. After breezing through her first match, she was pushed to the brink in her second doubles match. Even after splitting sets, Briggs and her partner, senior Amanda Diaz, dug deep in the decider, showing composure in long rallies that finished the day 2–0.

“In doubles matches, I try to communicate with my partner during the match so we’re on the same page the whole time,” said Briggs.

Senior Anna Soteras played with steady confidence, and outlasted opponents who struggled to keep up with her patience and precision. Additionally, sophomore Ipek Sakiroglu strung together two-straight set wins, built on heavy groundstrokes that kept her opponents pinned behind the baseline.

Individually, sophomore Kalomoira Ralli and Diaz each had to fight through three-set battles, but both turned the momentum in their favor with strong finishes. Ralli outlasted a tight second set before pulling away in the third, while Diaz bounced back from a dropped opener to control the final two sets. Freshman Lauren Burkett and senior Rachel Sam sealed the sweep.

When doubles play rolled around, the Lakers didn’t let up. Sengphrachanh paired with Ralli to edge out a tight win, and Sakiroglu and Burkett finished the evening strong with another victory. By day’s end, the Lakers had strung together a perfect slate of singles and doubles wins, a statement performance to open the weekend.

Friday, the GVSU men were locked into a tougher draw at the invitational, but several Lakers carved out impressive victories.

Freshman Bora Bakici opened with a clean, efficient battle to give himself a straight-set win. Senior Patricio Sepulveda provided one of the day’s most dramatic matches, battling through long exchanges and saving break points in a deciding tiebreak before walking away with a marathon victory.

Meanwhile, sophomore Jose Pablo Mozas Pavon put on one of the cleanest performances of the day, blanking his first opponent without losing a game and backing it up with another dominant win in round two.

In doubles, the Lakers displayed chemistry and resilience. Bakici and Sepulveda worked in sync at the net to shut out their opponents, while juniors Lawrence Ivanov and Stephen Claassen rounded out the wins with sharp serving and steady play to take their matchup late in the day.

Day two of the invite once again held strong results for the Lakers, with Sengphrachanh opening things with her third singles victory. Alongside Ralli, in doubles, they defeated their next two opponents, giving both players a clean sweep throughout the invite. The other six singles matches for the women’s team all resulted in swift victories for the Lakers, with Briggs, Diaz, Sakiroglu and Burkett all joining in on clean sweeps over the two days.

The women’s doubles matches held a similar tone, with the Lakers winning six matches overall. However, the Soteras and Sam were handed their first loss in a doubles match against Tiffin University. Despite this loss, the women’s team still showed dominance, winning 24-straight singles matches and taking 10 of the 11 doubles matches.

For the men’s team, they began day two with a pair of singles wins by Bakici and Denys Zamaraiev. Santiago Castellanos fell in his lone singles match, but rebounded in doubles, winning two matches alongside Zamaraiev.

The Lakers next went on a strong singles run, winning four of the next five matches. This momentum held into doubles matches, with GVSU taking eight of the nine matches on the invitational’s last day.