ADRIAN, Mich. - The Craft Tennis Complex will be pretty active this week. With better weather finally on the way, the Bulldog tennis teams will close out the respective home portions of their 2021-22 schedules with two non-conference matches for the men, and an in-league bout for the women.
First on Wednesday, the Adrian men (8-8, 3-3 MIAA) begin a brief step away from MIAA-play as they host Aquinas College.
The Saints (9-10, 4-2 WHAC) are 5-3 since the beginning of March, but did drop their most recent outing at Davenport University, 7-0, on April 9.
Freshman Tom Gangov (9-3) has made a living for Aquinas at No. 2 singles, picking up all nine of his victories this season from that position, and junior Mariano Arroyo (4-3) is currently riding a team-high three-match win-streak.
In doubles, the combo of Simon Uhlen and Nicholas Klak (10-3) have won five consecutive matches in the No. 3 slot, and seven of their last eight overall.
It has been over three years since Adrian and Aquinas last squared-off on the courts, with their last meeting coming back on March 16, 2019 in Grand Rapids. The 'Dogs will be looking to snap a two-match skid against the Saints when they come to town.
Then, on Thursday, the boys continue their non-league slate with Spring Arbor University.
The Cougars (11-8, 5-3 CL), saw a four-match win-streak come to an end in their last contest against Lewis-Clark State on April 8. During that stretch, they outpaced their opponents 31-3.
Ryan MacLean (18-2) has been Spring Arbor's biggest contributor so far this season, holding a clean 8-0 record at No. 4 singles. The senior has won seven individual matches in-a-row, and is also a big piece of the Cougars success in doubles with his partner Brendan Bentley. Together, the duo is 13-4 overall, including 5-2 at No. 1 doubles.
Adrian and Spring Arbor have a more extensive history than with Aquinas, having met eight times since 2010. The Bulldogs have won four of the last six of those meetings.
Lastly, on Saturday, the Adrian women (8-9, 3-3 MIAA) resume their push for a playoff berth against Saint Mary's College.
The Belles (6-9, 3-2 MIAA) sit only a half-game ahead of the black and gold for the fourth seed in the upcoming MIAA Tournament, and lost their most recent conference-outing versus Kalamazoo, 8-1 on April 12. Kalyn Borger nabbed Saint Mary's lone point against the Hornets at No. 4 singles.
The Bulldogs, though, have not mustered a point in their all-time series with the Belles since April of 2017. That drought could easily end this weekend, as Adrian will enter the contest with eight different individuals coming off of wins in their last matches, including
Elizabeth Himebauch (7-5),
Jules Johnson (12-3), and
Regan Snyder (8-6), who have each won back-to-back bouts.
As for the Adrian men,
Zachary Perry is also riding a two-match win-streak, while
Ryan Cuddy (9-7) has emerged victories in six of his last seven appearances.
As of Tuesday, live results for all three matches will be available through adrianbulldogs.com.
