Wayne State University Athletics

Women's Tennis 2/22/2024 1:30:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Tennis Readies for ITA National Indoor Championship

WSU will play three matches against some of Division II's best programs.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's tennis program will be playing in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Women's Team Indoor Championship this weekend from Friday, February 23, through Sunday, February 25, at the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center in Kearney, Neb.

WSU enters the event with a 2-2 overall record, including wins over two Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) programs in Walsh (6-1) and 25th-ranked Findlay (4-3). Wayne State checked in at 14th nationally by the ITA in the association's national poll from February 14.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
The ITA National Indoor Championship features the top seven programs from the final ITA Division II National Rankings following 2022-23, with the last position in the field reserved for the host University of Nebraska, Kearney. The Warriors will be the seventh seed for this weekend by virtue of their finish in last season's rankings. Joining the Warriors and the host Lopers will be Barry, Nova Southeastern, Saint Leo, Flagler, West Alabama, and Columbus State. Below are the first round matches with seeding, which will be held on Friday inside Ernest Grundy Tennis Center.

#3-Saint Leo vs. #6-Columbus State - 9:00 a.m. Eastern
#2-Nova Southeastern vs. #7-Wayne State - 12:00 p.m. Eastern
#4-Flagler vs. #5-West Alabama - 3:30 p.m. Eastern
#8-Nebraska, Kearney vs. #1-Barry - 6:30 p.m.

Winners of the opening round matches will play in the semifinals on Saturday, with the finals scheduled for Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. Consolation matches will also be held to decide third, fifth, and seventh places in the finishing order. The Green and Gold will end up playing in three matches over the weekend regardless of result.

The source for all things related to the ITA National Indoor Championship can be found within the Tournament Central via the ITA website. The link includes the full schedule with updates, live streaming, and live scoring.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State rebounded from a pair of losses the previous weekend against Washburn and Indianapolis to secure two victories over Northwestern Ohio and Findlay. The Green and Gold downed UNOH, the No. 24-ranked team within the NAIA, by a 6-1 score, which included earning the doubles point and five of the six singles matches at the Westwood Tennis and Fitness Center.

NOTE: The match against Northwestern Ohio was deemed an exhibition for the Warriors on March 29.

Last Saturday's contest vs. Findlay was the team's first win over a ranked Division II program this season. After dropping the opening doubles point, WSU rallied back to win four singles matches. Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France), Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt), Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland), and Shanice Weekes (London, England) all were triumphant against the Oilers. Weekes earned her first singles win of the season, while Ruyssen clinched the match with her victory at the first flight.

RUYSSEN NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Anais Ruyssen was named GLIAC Women's Tennis Player of the Week by the league office on Wednesday afternoon. It was the third time in her collegiate career that the redshirt junior has collected the recognition, following one time each during the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

The Warrior won both singles contests, and with Marta Komar also secured a pair of doubles triumphs for a 4-0 overall ledger. Ruyssen downed Northwestern Ohio's Alizee Ripolles by matching 6-2 set scores at the first flight last Thursday, before battling three sets with Findlay's Anamarija Kovacevic last Saturday. The UF player won the first set 6-4, but WSU's top singles player would not be denied, grabbing set wins of 7-6 (7-2) and 7-5 to complete the comeback.

In doubles, Ruyssen and Komar nabbed a 6-2 victory over UNOH's Jelena Lopicic and Agathe Vaillant, before downing UF's Zuzanna Krygier and Emily Hadler (ranked No. 9 in the Midwest Region) by a 6-1 margin. Both matches came at the No. 1 position for the Warriors' top duo.

VS. NOVA SOUTHEASTERN (2/23)
Nova Southeastern enters this weekend's tournament with a 3-1 record, all within the Sunshine State Conference. NSU tallied three victories to open the campaign against Palm Beach Atlantic (6-1), Tampa (7-0), and Florida Southern (6-1), but fell 5-2 to the No. 1 program in the country, Barry University, in its most-recent contest. The Sharks are right behind the Buccaneers as the second-ranked team in the nation by the ITA as of February 14.

The Warriors and Sharks have played one another three times, with Nova Southeastern claiming all three match-ups. That includes a 5-2 NSU triumph last season on March 14, 2023 - a campaign that saw the Sharks set a single-season record for wins (26) and earned a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship against Barry.

All three contests were contested in Florida and on the road for the Green and Gold, which makes this Friday's neutral site contest a change from the all-time season series.

Nova Southeastern is coached by Doug Neagle in his eighth season at the helm of the program in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He has led NSU to a 116-42 (.734) overall record and a 47-16 (.746) ledger within the SSC. Neagle is assisted by Lauren Ko.

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Players Mentioned

Malak Arafat: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Marta Komar: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Anais Ruyssen: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Martyna Szpakowska: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Shanice Weekes: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Malak Arafat
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Marta Komar
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Anais Ruyssen
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Martyna Szpakowska
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Shanice Weekes
: 5' 4"; Sophomore