DETROIT (4/2/2015) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's and women's tennis teams will return home for a vital Horizon League match as the Titans battle the Raiders of Wright State this Saturday.
The Detroit men have lost four in a row and are 4-11 overall and 0-3 in the Horizon League. The Titans had a couple of close matches go the other way last week as the red, white and blue won the doubles point at Cleveland State before dropping the match, 5-2, while UDM was edged at Youngstown State, 4-3.
Sophomore
Patryk Koscielski tops the team with 10 singles wins – with six of those at the No. 1 position – while junior
Rafael Orantes and freshman
Nathan Ponton are 2-1 in singles in league play.
The Wright State men have won two in a row, but are 9-13 on the season and 0-4 in the Horizon League. The Raiders have fallen to Cleveland State (6-2), Youngstown State (6-1), Valparaiso (6-1) and UIC (4-3), all at home. Lauri Makikalli leads the team with a 12-3 record, playing all over the line-up from one through six. Andrew Connolly is 10-6 overall, mostly at the backend of the line-up, while Jose Pestana is third on the squad with eight singles wins.
With the men's side of the Horizon League featuring just seven teams and six conference matches, the winner of the bout could have the tiebreaker it needs to qualify for the Horizon League Championship.
The Detroit women saw their five-match win streak stopped their last time out and enter the weekend at 11-8 overall, 3-1 in the Horizon League. UDM started last week with a 4-3 road win at Cleveland State before losing at Youngstown State, 5-2.
Sophomore
Anna Davydova leads the team with a 21-7 record and is 15-3 at No. 4 and a perfect 4-0 in the HL. Her 21 wins are tied for the seventh most in school history and just six shy of the school record. Junior
Irina Slizovskaya is 15-13, including 6-1 at No. 3 and 2-1 in the conference, while freshman
Sasha Nionova has six wins at No. 1 and is 3-1 in league play.
WSU is 11-9 overall and 1-3 in the HL as the Raiders have rotated wins and losses in their last nine matches. Wright State's lone triumph in the conference was a 6-1 tally over Valparaiso, while it has lost to Cleveland State (5-2), Youngstown State (6-1) and UIC (4-3). Linsey Verstrepen is 16-1 on the season and 12-1 at No. 6. Karoline Haller is also tied for the team high with a 16-4 mark and is 12-2 at No. 4, while Tori Turner is 10-10 in singles.
