Oct. 21, 2011


TOURNAMENT TIME --  RESULTS
The Wayne State University women's tennis team (11-1, 11-1 GLIAC) opens up this year's GLIAC Tournament at the Midland Community Tennis Center as the second-seed and are set to play No. 7 Ohio Dominican (7-5, 6-5) tonight at 6:45 p.m.

The Warriors regular season concluded with a second-place finish in the GLIAC standings, the program's best mark since 1995. WSU is riding a three-match win streak into the tourney, while the Panthers, who are making their tournament debut, have dropped their last three decisions.

The winner of the match advances to play either No. 3 Grand Valley State (10-2, 10-2 GLIAC) or No. 6 Lake Superior State (12-5, 7-5 GLIAC) on Saturday at 3:45 p.m.


GLIAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Warriors have placed fourth the past three seasons. Only four teams have won the tourney since its inception in 1999. Last year, Grand Valley snapped Northwood University's string of seven straight titles to record its first championship. Ferris State University has won it three times and Northern Michigan University once. Spanning from 1975 to 1980, WSU won five straight conference titles. Since then, the Warriors best mark was two straight runner-up finishes in 1994 and 1995.


SCOUTING OHIO DOMINICAN
Starting the 2011 campaign with five straight GLIAC road matches, the Warriors passed its first test, besting host Ohio Dominican University, 8-1, on Sept. 2. After taking two of the three doubles matches, WSU tallied straight set wins in all six singles match.

In singles, Ohio Dominican is led by sophomore Sofia Espana-Perez, the team's No. 1, who carries a 12-4 record into the tourney. Espana-Perez and junior Aline Mariano team at one doubles and have posted a 13-4 record thus far. 


AT THE HELM
Shelia Snyder is in her 23rd season as Wayne State's head tennis coach and has a record of 211-144. She has guided the Warriors to six NCAA Tournament appearances.

Snyder was no stranger to the Warrior program when she became the women's tennis team's coach in 1989 as she was a four-time letterwinner on both the WSU women's basketball and women's tennis teams as an undergrad.

Snyder played basketball at WSU from 1983-87 and tennis from 1983-86. She earned four letters in each sport while being named team captain on the women's basketball team in 1986-87. For her career, Snyder played in 108 games and scored 552 points while totaling 230 assists. Her name can be found throughout the WSU record brooks as Snyder (formerly Sheila Baron) ranks seventh in career games played, 14th in career assists and 17th in career steals (142).


WARRIOR NOTEBOOK
• Senior Kristina Goranskaya (76) sits eight singles victories away from tying Sharon Gill as WSU's career singles wins leader. Goranskaya is five wins away from equaling Gill's school record mark of 80 career doubles wins.
• Freshmen Yahsha Moore and Anne Li Briand are one of three doubles teams that bring undefeated records into the GLIAC tourney. Their 11-0 record is tied with Susana Alcaraz and Nastya Puchkina of Northwood, while Nikoletta Kaposzta and Ayana Kobayashi are 10-0.
• Moore's 9-1 record is best among all GLIAC competitors playing at three singles, while Goranskaya (11-1) and Briand (8-2) sit second at one and three singles, respectively.


GLIAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
At the culmination of last year's tourney, Sharon Gill became the first women's tennis player in WSU history to receive GLIAC “Player of the Year” honors.

Gill capped off a sensational first half of the 2010-11 season, going 5-0 at the GLIAC Tournament. After suffering two losses at the ITA Midwest Regional Tennis Tournament in September 2010, Gill responded with a perfect 17-0 record the remainder of the fall schedule.