DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's tennis team concluded its fall tournament slate by hosting the Wayne State Doubles Tournament on Friday at the Duchene Athletic Facility. They were joined by Tiffin University, Oakland University, and the University of Findlay to form a 16-team bracket.
Teams played standard six-game sets typically seen in dual matches during the spring.
Of the pairings with WSU student-athletes in them to begin the tournament, only
Shanice Weekes (London, England) and
Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) advanced out of the Round of 16. The tandem handled Findlay's Anamarija Kovacevic and Charlie Croteau 6-3 to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
However, Weekes and Szpakowska fell in heartbreaking 7-6 (7-4) fashion to Isabella Pompa and Emma Hultqvist of Oakland.
Pompa and Hultqvist ended up advancing to the finals and lost 6-3 to the champions of the Wayne State Doubles Tournament, UF's Zuzanna Krygier and Emily Hadler.
Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) and
Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland) lost 6-4 to the Oilers' Madison Arquette and Lidia Laskova, while
Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt) and
Justine Beaulieu (Montreal, Que.) were shutout 6-0 by Elina Ivanova and Valentina Salek from UF.
Dea Gorgidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) partnered with not a WSU teammate, but with Findlay's Ivanova Lucero. The two came up short in a tiebreaker to lose the match 7-6 (7-3) to Tiffin's Anaelle Lepinay and Emily Barrett.
All losing teams in the Round of 16 went on to the consolation bracket, where the Green and Gold saw major success. Ruyssen and Komar won 6-4 vs. OU's Edie Hammond and Emilia Jarvinen and triumphed 6-2 against another Golden Grizzlies' team in Alma Orenstain and Tara Montreuil. The top WSU pairing survived to the consolation finals by virtue of those two wins and were met in the finals by Warrior teammates Arafat and Beaulieu.
The two elder Wayne State members were able to win 6-3 to claim the consolation victory.
Arafat and Beaulieu advanced to the finals by notching strong wins over the Gorgidze/Lucero duo (6-2) and against the Kovacevic/Croteau pairing (6-4).
After their quarterfinals defeat, Weekes and Szpakowska were able to rebound nicely by grabbing a pair of victories to finish their day. Both wins were vs. Tiffin teams -- 6-2 over Lepinay/Barrett and 6-1 against Carina Avram and Maeva Maxch.
Seeing her first action of the fall and of her collegiate career was freshman
Dessyre Obedencio (Warren, Mich.). She partnered with Findlay's Reagan Resor to collect a 6-0 shutout of Olivia Miller and Isabella Marvicsin from the Dragons.
Gorgidze had a new partner in Laskova (UF) for one final match on the day for the redshirt sophomore from the Green and Gold, but Gorgidze and Laskova lost 6-4 to OU's Hammond and Jarvinen.
INDIVIDUAL TOTALS
Ruyssen: 3-1
Komar: 3-1
Arafat: 2-2
Beaulieu: 2-2
Gorgidze: 0-3
Weekes: 3-1
Szpakowska: 3-1
Obedencio: 1-0
UP NEXT
Wayne State has now been a part of five fall events in the Hillsdale College Summer Invitational, the ITA Midwest Regional, the ITA Cup, the Northwood Invitational, and this doubles tournament. The squad will next look ahead to its spring schedule, which officially begins on Friday, February 2 at home against Lawrence Tech.
All three teams at Friday's doubles tournament will be on WSU's schedule in some capacity in 2024. Findlay (February 17) and Tiffin (March 20) are regular season dual matches, with the contest at home against Oakland on January 27 being a scrimmage.
