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Wayne State University Athletics

1
Grand Valley State GV-W (16-7)
4
Winner Wayne State WSUW (23-3)
Grand Valley State GV-W
(16-7)
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Final
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Wayne State WSUW
(23-3)
Winner
Dea Gorgidze vs. Grand Valley State - 05-02-2023
Zack Belsky/WSU Athletics
Dea Gorgidze helped WSU to the win vs. GVSU by posting a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 victory on Tuesday.

Match Recap: Women's Tennis | | Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Tennis Wins 4-1 to Earn Spot in NCAA Tournament Round of 16

The Warriors defeated Grand Valley State to win the Midwest Region and join the men's team in Orlando, Fla.

DETROIT -- The seventh-ranked Wayne State University women's tennis team (23-3 overall) earned its spot in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 by defeating No. 21-ranked Grand Valley State (16-7 overall) 4-1 on Tuesday afternoon inside the Duchene Athletic Facility.

The women's tennis squad will make its second trip to the Round of 16 in program history, following the 2014 team that recorded wins over Missouri-St. Louis (5-2) and Northwood (5-3) in the regional bracket, before falling to eventual national champion Armstrong Atlantic in Altamonte Springs, Fla.  Both teams were led by current head coach Sheila Snyder.

This was the third meeting of the season between the second-seeded Warriors and third-seeded Lakers.  While GVSU won the regular season contest, WSU tallied a pair of victories in postseason play.

DOUBLES
After losing the doubles point in both previous matches, the Green and Gold ensured a better start on Tuesday after winning both completed contests and moving ahead 1-0 in the overall match.

Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) and Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland) notched a 6-1 victory at the first flight, as the No. 14-ranked duo in the nation dropped the No. 12-ranked tandem of Vasileia Griva and Taylor Barrett.  The contest was the sixth time in the last seven doubles matches that the two juniors played a ranked pairing, with five wins in those six affairs.

Also grabbing a win were Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) and Shanice Weekes (London, England) at the No. 3 spot.  They posted a 6-2 triumph vs. Ana Romero Gonzalez and Amanda Diaz for their 19th win together this spring.

Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt) and Dea Gorgidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) did not finish their match.  They were trailing 4-3 to Estefania Hernandez and Rachel Sam at the moment of suspension.

SINGLES
The Warriors recorded wins in three of the four completed singles matches, enough to win the match and punch their ticket to Florida. 

At the No. 1 position, the last two GLIAC Player of the Year winners went into combat against each other for the third time this season.  Ruyssen, the 2022 winner and No. 30-ranked singles player in the nation, was able to defeat Griva, the 2023 winner, for a second time this postseason with her 6-2, 6-3 triumph.

Grand Valley State scored its lone point of the day with the next completed contest, as Komar lost to Barrett at the second position by scores of 7-5 and 6-4.

Ahead 2-1, Gorgidze made the score 3-1 with her win at the No. 4 spot over Anna Soteras.  After going ahead with a 6-3 win in the first set, she fell 6-1 to her Laker opponent in the second set.  Gorgidze then posted the same score (6-1) in claiming the victory, her 16th dual match win of the spring.

Officially ensuring her team would be making the trip to Orlando was Arafat at the No. 3 spot.  Her battle vs. Sam also needed three sets as the Warrior won the first 7-6 (3), while the Laker earned a 7-5 victory in the middle set.  Arafat then shutout Sam 6-0 in the final set to begin the celebration.  The decision capped a strong weekend for the freshman, who finished first in a thorough victory in her semifinal match on Monday.

Szpakowska and Weekes did not finish at the fifth and sixth positions.  Both won a set, however, with Szpakowska earning a 6-4 win and Weekes a 6-0 victory against Hernandez and Diaz, respectively.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will head to Orlando, Fla. for Round of 16 action in the NCAA Tournament.  The bracket will be re-seeded after all 16 teams have been finalized.  Day 1 of the women's bracket at the UTSA National Campus is slated for Friday, May 12.  WSU will enter play with a 23-3 overall record and 16-1 regional ledger.

 
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