DETROIT (3/30/2020) -- The University of Detroit Mercy has a heavy heart as the Titans lost one of their own as former men's tennis player Chance Conley passed away on March 28 after a long battle with diabetes.

Conley, 25, was a four-year letterwinner for the Titans from 2013-2017 and was part of the Titan turnaround, helping the squad post its first-ever winning conference season with a 5-2 mark in the Horizon League as a senior in 2016-17. That year, the Titans also tallied 11 overall wins, tied for the second-most in school history at the time.

"It was just heartbreaking to hear the news and we are all praying for his family," said former head men's tennis coach Aaron Paajanen. "He was someone you cheered for when you see what he overcame to get to where he was. As a senior, he won a lot of big matches for us and really stepped up and we wouldn't have been able to make that turnaround from a last-place team a year before all the way up to second without Chance coming up with some key wins. 

As a senior, he registered 12 singles wins - eight at the starting No. 6 positions - and added a team-high 14 doubles victories, including an 11-7 mark with Patryk Koscielski at No. 2.

In a senior campaign that saw a lot of close matches, Conley helped the Titans capture that 5-2 mark and second-place finish in the league with late-season wins against NKU's Adrian Isache, 6-3, 6-4, and UIC's Alvaro de la Fuente, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, in 4-3 triumphs. The match against UIC was the clinching point. 

In his career, he recorded 24 singles wins and 30 doubles victories. 

A native of Portland, Michigan, he was 124-21 in high school at Portland, capturing a state title in 2011 and runner-up in 2012. 

A celebration of his life will be annpunced in the summer. In honor of Chance's lifelong battle with juvenile diabetes, memorial contributions may be made to JDRF.org.