Wayne State University Athletics

Manuela Davies/USTA

Anais Ruyssen and Marta Komar are one of eight doubles teams remaining at the ITA Cup.

Women's Tennis 10/12/2023 5:40:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Ruyssen and Komar Advance to Doubles Quarterfinals at ITA Cup

The top-seeded duo won in straight sets to move ahead in the bracket.

ROME, Ga. -- Day one of action on Thursday at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's ITA Cup was a successful one for the Wayne State University women's tennis pairing of Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) and Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland), as the two Warriors advanced to Friday's quarterfinals at the Rome Tennis Center.

The two redshirt juniors started their run in the Round of 16 by handling Katarina Liedbeck and Roisin Boyd of Adelphi University (N.Y.) in straight sets. Ruyssen and Komar nearly shut-out their opponents, as they posted a 6-0 win in the first set and a 6-1 victory in the second set.

Ruyssen and Komar will next play on Friday at 5:30 p.m. from the Rome Tennis Center. Their quarterfinals match will be against Columbus State's Mariana Ramirez and Nikoline Gullacksen. The CSU team won its Round of 16 contest by scores of 6-4 and 7-5 over Isabella Rios and Sofia Teran from Dallas Baptist University.

WSU's dynamic doubles tandem entered the championship as the top-seeded team in the doubles field. They qualified for the ITA Cup as one of the eight at-large bids following a quarterfinals defeat at the ITA Midwest Regional in Greenwood, Ind. Their appearance at the tournament, the only singles and doubles national championship event for the Division II and NAIA levels, marked the first time since 2009 that a member of the WSU women's tennis team represented the Green and Gold.

WSU Hall of Fame inductee Sharon Gill and teammate Milena Vuksanovic placed seventh nationally with a win over Mesa State in the 2009 ITA Small College National Championship. In 2002, another Wayne State Hall of Famer Natalya Natyshak and partner Leila Armin qualified for the championship in Corpus Christi, Texas, following the first ITA Great Lakes Region doubles title in program history.

The ITA Cup, formerly known as the Small College Nationals, has a history dating back to 1986. In 2022, more than 8,000 players participated in 60 regional tournaments to gain entry into the ITA Cup field.

Matches in both singles and doubles will continue throughout the weekend in Rome, Ga. The ITA Cup is being hosted by Berry College for a seventh consecutive year, dating back to 2017.

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Players Mentioned

Marta Komar: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Anais Ruyssen: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

Marta Komar
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Anais Ruyssen
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior