Wayne State University Athletics

Hyelim Shin

Marta Komar pulled through for a thrilling 7-6 (7-5) victory in her first singles set on Thursday, which paved her way to the overall win at the third flight.

Women's Tennis 2/15/2024 4:41:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Tennis Rebounds for 6-1 Triumph at Northwestern Ohio

The Warriors had lost their last two contests prior to the match in Lima, Ohio.

LIMA, Ohio -- The Wayne State University women's tennis team handed NAIA's Northwestern Ohio (4-1 overall) its first loss of the season by defeating the Racers 6-1 on Thursday afternoon at the Westwood Tennis & Fitness Center. The match was deemed an exhibition for the Warriors.

WSU snapped its mini two-game slide with the triumph and concluded its three-game swing away from Detroit with a win.

DOUBLES
Several Warriors did their part in doubles on Thursday against the #24th-ranked program in the NAIA entering the day. WSU claimed two of three contests to come away with the opening point of the match.

Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) and Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland) delivered at the first flight, downing Jelena Lopicic and Agathe Vaillant 6-2. The UNOH tandem were ranked ninth in the NAIA East Region.

Also victorious at the No. 2 spot were Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt) and Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland). They posted the same 6-2 win over the Racers' Alizee Ripolles and Neo Mafuyeka to make three consecutive doubles wins for the Warrior combination.

The all-freshmen team of Justine Beaulieu (Montreal, Que.) and Dessyre Obedencio (Warren, Mich. / Cousino) suffered a 6-3 defeat at the hands of Ana Cetina and Munisa Ashurbekova at the No. 3 position.

SINGLES
The Green and Gold went on to secure five of the six singles points, including all five that saw the finish line on Thursday in Lima.

Ruyssen, the No. 48-ranked singles player in the country, handled Ripolles by matching 6-2 set scores to earn the victory at the first flight. Ripolles was ranked seventh in the nation for NAIA women's tennis student-athletes, and first in the East Region.

Arafat, ranked 31st in Division II, nearly shut out Lopicic at the No. 2 position. She won 6-0, 6-1 to secure her first win of the campaign at that court position.

In what was a tight first set, Komar prevailed with a 7-6 (7-5) tie-breaking triumph over Ashurbekova at the third position. She made quicker work of her UNOH opponent in the second set, notching a 6-3 win.

Szpakowska and Beaulieu each registered wins at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, respectively. Szpakowska defeated Veronika Kovalchuk 6-0, 6-2, while Beaulieu handled Cetina 6-2, 6-1.

Shanice Weekes (London, England) saw her first action of the spring season against Northwestern Ohio. Unfortunately, she was forced to retire to Vaillant at the sixth flight with the score tied 1-1, which gave the Racers' their lone point of the afternoon. Weekes recovered for a 6-4 second set win after falling 6-3 in the first set.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will play its first home match in nearly two weeks on Saturday against the University of Findlay from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). The former GLIAC rivals will meet again for a 1 p.m. first serve inside the Duchene Athletic Facility.

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Players Mentioned

Malak Arafat: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Justine Beaulieu: 5' 4"; Freshman

Marta Komar: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Anais Ruyssen: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Martyna Szpakowska: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Shanice Weekes: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Dessyre Obedencio: 5' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Malak Arafat
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Justine Beaulieu
: 5' 4"; Freshman

Marta Komar
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Anais Ruyssen
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Martyna Szpakowska
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Shanice Weekes
: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Dessyre Obedencio
: 5' 4"; Freshman