The Tigers played in an exciting exhibition match against an outstanding women’s team from Aquinas College to close out their first season. The girls team from Aquinas are currently ranked #3 in the Midwest (NAIA). Grace won 4 of the 6 singles matches and also won the 3rd doubles match to claim a 5-4 victory.  “I am so encouraged with the hard work everyone on the team has put in this year,” said Coach Carroll.  “Our goals this year were to get the tennis program off the ground as a club team, play with character and integrity and represent GBC well, show improvement every match, and just plain have fun. I feel as though we have achieved those goals and I look forward to next year when we become a NCCAA varsity tennis sport. We lose only one player to graduation next year and add significantly to our schedule the amount of matches we will play to become even more competitive.”

The tennis coaching staff is actively looking for tennis players for next year to fill out a complete squad for the men’s and women’s teams. If you are interested, please fill out the interested in playing form on our website or call Coach Carroll at 616-915-4500.

The Tigers lost a tough match to the Panthers of Davenport University (NAIA II).  Grace continued to show improvement but showed their youth as they fell 9-0.  “I am still so impressed with the strides we are making,” said Coach Carroll.  “We still need to improve in certain elements of our game but we are steadily building this program with great kids.  As we add players next year we will be competetive.  We are still working on so many things in our first year.”

Cory Jamieson and Ryan Krombeen continued to show great improvement with their forehand and net play.  Krombeen and Jordan Mattfolk lost a close doubles match but played extremely well.

The Tigers will finish the season on April 23rd at Aquinas in a special exhibition.

Despite the scores, the Tigers continued to show improvement in the first season of tennis at GBC.  “I am extremely proud of this team and the effort and character they display at our matches,” said Coach Mark Carroll.  “This  is the second time we faced off against Adrian College in the last few weeks and I was so impressed with our improvement in every one of our flights.”

In #1 singles, Casey Duke battled Adrian’s top player in a match that went down to the wire.  Casey won the first set 6-4 controlling the play and tempo before losing the second set.  The match went to an exciting ten point super tie-breaker where Casey fell 10-4.

The Tigers will play Davenport University on April 21st at Orchard Hills Tennis Club at 5:00pm

The new Tiger tennis team traveled to Rensselaer, IN to take on Saint Joseph’s College and Adrian College and play in their first ever tennis matches.  Head Coach Mark Carroll was elated with the team and this huge first for GBC.  “We have three players on the men’s team that have never played any organized tennis and I couldn’t be more proud of the effort they gave and how they handled everything.  Against Saint Joseph’s, a NCAA Division II school, our players took their best players to the wire in several of the matches.  Many of our players are just athletes from the general population of the school that wanted to help us get our tennis program off the ground.  I didn’t expect to do so well right out of the gate. I do know that Grace has made the commitment to get our athletic programs going and everything they do here is first class.  The players had a great time in their first outing.”

Grace will play a limited schedule this year as they gear up for a full schedule next season.  The tennis coaching staff is actively looking for tennis players for next year to fill out a complete squad for the men’s and women’s teams.  Athletic Director Rich Renzema was pleased with the squad’s first outing.  “I knew Mark Carroll was really working hard to get our tennis program off the ground and we couldn’t be more proud of the way they played and represented Grace.  I am looking forward to seeing this program grow with Coach Carroll’s guidance.

The Tigers get ready for their first match

Moses Mouanoutoua and Dan Dame

Casey Duke and Cory Jamieson

Nichole Galbicsek prepares for her match

Jordan Mattfolk and Ryan Krombeen