The men’s team end their season while the women’s team prepare for the GLIAC Conference
Michigan Tech wrapped up its final home tennis matches of the season with losses against Grand Valley State University and Davenport University at the Gates Tennis Center on Apr. 10 and 12 respectively. The men played their games at 10:00 a.m and the women played at 2:00 p.m. The men’s and women’s teams were swept 0-7 by Grand Valley State, while both teams improved against Davenport, with the men falling 1-4 and the women narrowly losing 3-4. The women will be competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic (GLIAC) Conference, while the men did not secure their participation.
In the matches against Grand Valley State, the Michigan Tech men’s doubles lineup featured Laurent Teysseire and Landon Coates at No. 1, Sarth Bansode and Haitam Aboufirassi at No. 2, and Ian Pinnoo with Sabri Laphitz at No. 3. The singles lineup Teysseire, Coates, Laphitz, Andres Horobeanu, Aboufirassi, and Pinnoo competed across the respective six positions.
On the women’s side, Bella Bigari and Emily Rose competed at No. 1, followed by Emily Cojocaru and Caoimhe McDonnell at No. 2, and Alexandra Nikonenko with Katerina Khardina at No. 3. Nikonenko and Khardina secured the team’s lone doubles point with a 7-5 victory. In women’s play, Nikonenko, Bigari, Cojocaru, Rose, Anamarija Ukic, and Efthymia Vasiliki Konstantatou filled the six positions.
Against Davenport University, the men’s doubles teams saw Teysseire and Coates again at No. 1, Aboufirassi paired with Dorian Pettengill at No. 2, and Pinnoo with Laphitz at No. 3. Tech found early success by winning the first two doubles matches 6-4 and 7-6 respectively. In the singles competition, Teysseire, Coates, Laphitz, Horobeanu, Aboufirassi, and Pettengill competed across the lineup. Teysseire earned a straight-sets win (6-3 and 6-4) and Laphitz landed a three set victory of 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
For the women, the double pairings remained consistent, with Bigari and Rose at No. 1, Cojocaru and McDonnell at No. 2, and Nikonenko and Khardina at No. 3. In single play, Nikonenko, Bigari, Cojocaru, McDonnell, Rose, and Ukic competed across the six positions. Nikonenko, Cojocaru, and Ukic each earned hard-fought three set victories, with scores of 6-4, 1-6, 6-2; 5-7, 7-5, 6-4; and 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 respectively.
Mike Andrews, the Head Coach for the Michigan Tech men’s and women’s tennis team, was interviewed post-men’s game against Grand Valley State. When describing the men’s team, Andrews said “They have competed well. We didn’t get any victories, but they were competitive in all of the matches. I am very pleased with [their] effort. I am very pleased with [their] attitude and very pleased with how they are supporting their teammates. [Grand Valley] is one of the top teams in the [GLIAC] Conference.” Andrews offered similar praise for the women’s team, stating “Good group. They support each other and have gotten into the culture [that] we want to take to the program.”
Seniors were highlighted this weekend, recognizing Sabri Laphitz of the men’s team and Katerina Khardina of the women’s team. Khardina is majoring in finance with a minor in financial technology. When further prompted about highlighting students, Andrews concluded his first year coaching the Tech tennis teams remarking “I wouldn’t pick one actually. They all have been great. Even the ones who haven’t played a lot have been very supportive, working hard. I have been so pleased and blessed with both teams. I have been really looking forward to [the future].”
Next year, Andrews said that they are looking to add two to three more men and women to the respective teams so the teams are closer to having ten people. Andrews explained that they already have one athlete signed on and have two or three potential more athletes that they are looking to sign on.
To find more information about the Tech schedule, roster, and results go to the Michigan Tech sports page at michigantechhuskies.com. To find more information about the GLIAC Conference, go to their website at gliac.org.
