Wayne State University Athletics

Women's Tennis 2/9/2024 11:00:00 AM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Tennis to Play First Road Matches This Weekend

The Warriors will be in Indianapolis, Ind. to battle ranked opponents in Washburn and UIndy.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's tennis team will play its first road contests of the season this weekend inside the UIndy Tennis Center in Indianapolis, Ind. The Warriors will battle #15-Washburn in a neutral site affair on Saturday, February 10, at 6:30 p.m., before playing the host Greyhounds (ranked No. 12) on Sunday, February 11, at 1:30 p.m.

These will be the first two matches against ranked opponents this season for the Green and Gold. Including this Saturday and Sunday, the Warriors will play a total of six match-ups against five teams that were nationally ranked via the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Division II Women's Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll. The other contests will be against Indianapolis a second time (March 3), Nova Southeastern (February 23 at the ITA National Indoor Championship), Flagler (March 12), and Grand Valley State (April 12).

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State won its first match of the 2024 campaign this past Tuesday against Walsh.

Prior to facing Walsh, WSU notched a 7-0 shutout win over LTU on February 5 in an exhibition contest, which was pushed back from February 2. The Green and Gold claimed the doubles point with three victories, including a 6-0 blanking by Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) and Justine Beaulieu (Montreal, Que.) against the Blue Devils' Rafaela Tedesco and Taylor Mattingly-Harnden at the No. 2 spot.

In singles, the Warriors secured all six points vs. Lawrence Tech - which all were decided in straight sets. The six Wayne State players allowed just 15 game points to their rivals from LTU. Obtaining triumphs were Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France), Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland), Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt), Dessyre Obedencio (Warren, Mich. / Cousino), Szpakowska, and Beaulieu.

The next day (February 6), Wayne State played its first Division II and regional opponent in the Walsh Cavaliers. WSU tallied a 6-1 victory to improve to 2-0 on the young season. The Ruyssen/Komar and Szpakowska/Beaulieu combinations had wins in doubles, which was enough for the Green and Gold to register a 1-0 lead in the overall match.

Five of the six singles competitions went the way of the home squad. Notable victories included Ruyssen's 6-1, 6-3 victory over Yasmina Mayer at the top flight, Arafat's 6-0, 6-2 triumph vs. Carla Padberg at the second position, and Szpakowska's 6-1, 6-1 win against Olesia Ivashchuk at the No. 5 spot.

VS. WASHBURN (2/10)
Saturday's match against Washburn at the UIndy Tennis Center will be the first ever meeting between the Warriors and Ichabods. Washburn was ranked No. 15 in the ITA Preseason Coaches Poll ahead of the 2024 season.

WU is 1-0 on the year following a 6-1 victory over Missouri-St. Louis in its season-opener on Saturday, February 3. The Ichabods will battle UIndy on Friday at 6:30 p.m. before its meeting with the Green and Gold.

Last season, Washburn went 18-7 and won the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (MIAA) Championship Tournament. The Ichabods, similar to WSU, advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in program history.

WU also has ranked singles and doubles pairings. Senior Maja Jung and redshirt sophomore Lara Schmid are the eighth-ranked doubles duo in Division II, while being second in the Central Region rankings. Jung is also the top-ranked singles player in the Central Region and third in all of Division II. Sophomore Renske Ubachs and junior Isabella Martensson are fifth in their region, while Ubachs is ninth for singles players.

Washburn is coached by Kirby Ronning in his fourth season. He has led the Ichabods to a 52-22 (.703) overall record with a 20-4 (.833) mark in the MIAA. Ronning is assisted by Casie Curry, Sofia Smagina, Kurt Reid, and Miller Zeiders.

AT INDIANAPOLIS (2/11)
The 12th-ranked Greyhounds have started off strong to begin 2024, as they knocked off a pair of GLIAC rivals in Grand Valley State (7-0) and Ferris State (7-0) on February 3 and February 4.

Sunday's match between WSU and Indianapolis will be the first since the Greyhounds defeated the Warriors 4-0 in an NCAA Midwest Regional contest on May 7, 2022. The two programs have played one another just five times total since 2004-05, with the Green and Gold claiming one match (6-3) on March 2, 2012.

Indianapolis' doubles tandem of senior Diane Flament and freshman Benedetta Sensi are the second-ranked pairing within the Midwest Region.

The Greyhounds are coached by Malik Tabet in his 12th season at the helm of the program. Tabet has led Indianapolis to a 181-48 (.790) overall record and a 54-4 (.931) ledger in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). He is assisted by Nastassia Chamoun, Carlos Thireau Cuco, and Milan Jankovic.

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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

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

Dessyre Obedencio
: 5' 4"; Freshman