Women's Tennis 4/10/2024 2:00:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Tennis Set to Welcome GVSU and FSU in Final Regular-Season Home Matches

The Warriors will look to take a commanding lead in the conference standings after starting 3-0 in the GLIAC.

DETROIT -- The No. 23-ranked Wayne State University women's tennis team (12-5 overall, 3-0 GLIAC) will be hosting its final two regular-season home contests on Friday, April 12, and Sunday, April 14, against Grand Valley State and Ferris State. Both matches will start at 2 p.m. following the men's action earlier in the day.

It will be the second of two weekends in Detroit for the Warriors as the final two contests of a four-match home stand. The Green and Gold will look to play outside on the WSU Tennis Courts for the first time this year if weather permits. In the case of inclement weather, the affairs will be held inside the Duchene Athletic Facility - just as they have in each home match to this point in the campaign. If outdoors, it will be the first regular season matchup held on the new court surfaces.

The battles with GVSU and FSU will go a long way towards deciding this season's GLIAC Regular-Season Champion. Last year, that honor went to Grand Valley State, despite WSU winning the GLIAC Tournament. From 2009 onward, the regular-season winner and tournament winner could be two different teams in the conference.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS
WSU and FSU are both 3-0 in the GLIAC, with four matches remaining for both squads. The two programs are followed in the standings by Saginaw Valley State (3-2), Grand Valley State (1-1), Purdue Northwest (1-2), Lake Superior State (1-2), Davenport (1-3), and Michigan Tech (0-3).

The top squad at the end of the regular season will be the GLIAC Regular-Season Champion and earn the top seed for the conference tournament, which is scheduled to begin in Midland, Mich., at the Greater Midland Tennis Center on April 26. Six teams will qualify for the tournament out of the eight schools in the league. Wayne State won the GLIAC Regular-Season Championship in both 2019 and 2022 on its way to winning the tournament in both years.

ITA RANKINGS UPDATE
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released another round of Division II rankings this morning on Wednesday, April 10. Included were the ninth round of National Rankings and the sixth rounds of National Singles and Doubles Rankings for the current campaign. The Warriors were placed 23rd in the nation by the computerized rankings, which was a drop of seven positions from last week's list on April 3. Despite that, WSU remains the only GLIAC program to appear in the rankings.

Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) in 18th is the sole Wayne State student-athlete to be ranked nationally in singles. This marks the first time in 2024 that the Green and Gold has had only one player ranked. Ruyssen and Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland) went from sixth to eighth in doubles, while Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt) and Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) dropped from 41st to 48th within the top 50.

The next round of computerized rankings will be revealed by the ITA on Wednesday, April 17. There will be two more rounds of rankings prior to postseason action. 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 improved to 3-0 in the GLIAC following victories over Lake Superior State (7-0) last Friday and Michigan Tech (6-1) this past Saturday.

Every singles match for WSU was won in straight sets against LSSU, while five of the six ended in that fashion against MTU (four triumphs). Justine Beaulieu (Montreal, Que.) secured the most exciting victory of the weekend in her contest with Marina Fernandez at the No. 6 position. The Warrior lost the first set 7-6 (7-4), but rallied back for a 6-4 win in the second set. The two combatants played a 10-point super tiebreaker that the WSU freshman claimed 10-3.

VS. GRAND VALLEY STATE (4/12)
Grand Valley State is 8-7 on the season after having a mini three-match winning streak snapped by FSU in its most recent action on March 30. The Lakers are 1-7 away from Allendale. They will be playing in their final road contest of the regular season on Friday.

WSU and GVSU have played in 38 matches since September 13, 2002, with Grand Valley State maintaining a 22-16 edge. The Warriors and Lakers learned plenty about each other in 2023, with the two squads meeting three times including two postseason affairs. After GVSU grabbed a 4-3 home win in the regular season on March 25, Wayne State countered when it mattered most. The Green and Gold defeated its Allendale rivals 4-3 in a thrilling GLIAC Tournament final round matchup on April 23, before hosting and defeating the Lakers 4-1 in the NCAA Midwest Regional on May 2 to advance to the NCAA Round of 16 in Orlando, Fla.

Grand Valley State's Anna Soteras is the No. 65-ranked singles player in Division II. Samantha Barr is in her fifth season as head coach and is assisted by Martin Matov, along with Adalyn Klawitter.

VS. FERRIS STATE (4/14)
Ferris State has won five consecutive matches against Midwest Region teams (Walsh, Davenport, Purdue Northwest, Southwest Baptist, and GVSU) to turn its season around after a 4-7 start. The Bulldogs are now 9-7 and tied with the Warriors atop the league standings. FSU will play at home against Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, prior to its contest at Wayne State on Sunday.

The Warriors maintain a 16-10 edge against Ferris State since September 14, 2002, and have claimed 12 of the past 14 meetings between the two schools. That includes a 5-2 triumph for the Green and Gold last season on March 24. WSU is 6-5 in Detroit against FSU since 2002, with victories in each of the past three home matchups.

Ferris State's Morgan Waller and Ana Sofia Hernandez Ferrer are ranked 38th nationally in doubles by the ITA. Mark Doren is currently in his fifth season as head coach in Big Rapids.

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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

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