DETROIT -- The No. 16-ranked Wayne State University women's tennis squad will start GLIAC action on Friday, March 29, on the road at Saginaw Valley State. WSU and SVSU will square off at the site of the 2024 GLIAC Tournament, the Greater Midland Tennis Center, starting at 2 p.m.
The Warriors enter the match-up with an 9-5 overall record, which includes a 3-1 ledger in true road contests.
ITA RANKINGS UPDATE
The ITA released another round of Division II rankings earlier this afternoon on Wednesday. Included were the seventh round of National Rankings and the fourth rounds of National Singles and Doubles Rankings for the current campaign. The Warriors were 16th in the nation, which was down five positions from 11th in the previous list revealed on March 20. WSU was the only ranked GLIAC school within the top 50.
Wayne State standouts
Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) and
Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland) led the squad in the rankings for singles and doubles. Both appeared together in eighth due to their strong play with one another this season, while Ruyssen was 17th in singles this week. Komar jumped 12 spots to 52nd within the top 75. She appeared in 64th one week ago.
The next round of computerized rankings will be revealed by the ITA on Wednesday, April 3. There will be four more rounds of rankings prior to postseason play, which is scheduled to begin on April 26 for WSU at the GLIAC Tournament in Midland, Mich.
The new rankings provided by the ITA can be found
HERE, or in the links at the top of the page.
LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State split its short two-match home stand against Tiffin and Division I Oakland. Following a close 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Dragons for their first home loss of 2024, the Warriors shut out a shorthanded OU team 7-0 last Saturday. The Golden Grizzlies were forced to forfeit the matches at the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles spots due to having just five players on their roster.
Three Warriors, including Komar,
Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) and
Dea Gorgidze (Tbilisi, Georgia), won their singles contests in straight sets against Oakland.
AT SAGINAW VALLEY STATE (3/29)
Saginaw Valley State owns an even 6-6 mark ahead of Friday's home contest vs. the Warriors. The Cardinals began their conference slate last weekend, with a pair of victories at Michigan Tech (5-2) and Lake Superior State (4-3). SVSU also handled future league member Roosevelt by a 6-1 score back in late February.
The Green and Gold have historically had their way against their rivals from University Center, Mich. WSU has won 23 of the 24 meetings between the two programs since October 12, 2002, with the only loss in that span occurring on October 15, 2016 (5-4). The last five decisions have ended in 7-0 WSU wins, including last season's affair on April 4, 2023.
The Cardinals have the No. 41-ranked doubles tandem of Tara Erler and Adriana Barrio on their roster. The squad is led by Interim Head Coach Terry Hicks and Assistant Coach Kevin Schultz.
