GREENWOOD, Ind. -- The Wayne State University women's tennis team continued to show fight on the second day of matches at the ITA Midwest Regional Tournament on Sunday.

Six Warriors played in at least one singles or doubles match during the day, which once again began at 8 a.m.

This year's event is being hosted by the University of Indianapolis.  Matches are primarily being played at the tennis courts of Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Ind.  The tournament is one of the ITA's 63 Small College Regional Championships and brings together athletes from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC).

DOUBLES
In Flight A action, Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) and Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland) played in a Round of 16 match after posting a first round victory on Saturday.  Facing Walsh's Aleksandra Chmir and Olesya Ivashchuk, the sixth-ranked doubles team from the end of last season advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4 win.

The two redshirt juniors would see their run end there, as they dropped the quarterfinals match to Diane Flament and Benedetta Sensi of Indianapolis, 6-3.

The other two Wayne State pairings that competed in Flight A were in consolation action on Sunday.  Registering a pair of victories were Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt) and Dea Gorgidze (Tbilisi, Georgia).  The two Warriors knocked off Grand Valley State's Vasileia Griva and Taylor Barrett 6-4 in impressive fashion, as the two Lakers were the No. 10-ranked team in the nation after the 2023 spring campaign.  Arafat and Gorgidze also went into a tiebreaker with Oona Kintscher and Daniela Rubio from Purdue Northwest, and came out the victor with a 7-6 (7-5) win.

The sophomores are next slated to face another PNW team in Sienna Lopez and Alma Regina Vazquez Rioja in more consolation doubles matches.

Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) and Justine Beaulieu (Montreal, Que.) fell 6-4 to Davenport's Amy Bloch and Willemien Coetzee.  The Davenport duo was last season's No. 12-ranked doubles tandem by the ITA after the spring.

SINGLES
Arafat's run in Flight A continued on Sunday with two more singles wins.  After moving on to the Round of 16 via two triumphs on Saturday, the sophomore then notched a three-set win over Sofia Valdespino of Rockhurst University.  The comeback victory included an opening set defeat (6-3), before a second set triumph of 6-4.  Arafat pulled through as the winner with a 10-8 decision in the race-to-ten final set.

She was able to advance to the semifinals on Monday when Diane Flament retired from the quarterfinals with an injury after the first set.  Flament grabbed a 6-3 win in the only completed set between the two competitors.

Arafat will next battle Benedetta Sensi in one of two semifinal matches on Monday at Center Grove High School.  The match is slated for 9 a.m., with the finals shortly after at noon.

In more consolation contests, Ruyssen handled Oona Kintscher despite a first set loss (4-6, 6-2, 10-7).  The No. 33-ranked singles player will next face GVSU's Rachel Sam in Flight A.

Szpakowska was in the same bracket, but she lost to Quincy's Blanca Salas Cruz in three sets.  The scores were 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 8-10 in what ended up being a tight contest that the Hawks player prevailed in.

Over in Flight B at nearby Clark Pleasant Middle School, Gorgidze notched a pair of singles matches on day one, including a 6-1, 2-6, 10-7 victory over Saginaw Valley State's Johanna Michahelles.  On Sunday, the Warrior beat Carina Avram from Tiffin University in three sets, 6-0, 4-6, 10-7 in the Round of 16.  Gorgidze then advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 7-5 two-set win vs. Walsh's Yasmina Mayer.

It will be a Flight B semifinals battle between Gorgidze and Katherine Earnest from Ferris State at 9 a.m., with the winner moving on to the finals at noon.

Beaulieu also grabbed two wins on the first day of play, which included a 6-4, 6-3 victory in straight sets over Alma Regina Vazquez Rioja.  However, the freshman was defeated in the Round of 16 on Sunday, dropping a 6-4, 2-6, 7-10 contest to Katherine Earnest.

According to the ITA, the Small College Regional Championships serve as a direct qualifier for the ITA Cup, a national championship held annually for the Division II, Division III, NAIA, and Junior College levels.

The remaining Wayne State student-athletes will wrap up play in the final day of the ITA Midwest Regional Tournament on Monday.  The Warriors have an opportunity to claim overall bracket wins in both Flight A (with Malak Arafat), and Flight B singles (with Dea Gorgidze).