Wayne State University Athletics

WSU's five All-GLIAC recipients was one more than it had in 2023 (four).

Women's Tennis 4/26/2024 1:05:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Ruyssen Named GLIAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year; Several Other Warriors Collect Postseason Honors

Five total Warriors were named All-GLIAC (singles and/or doubles) by the league.

DETROIT -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) released its yearly postseason tennis awards on Friday afternoon, and several members of the Wayne State University women's tennis squad earned recognition from the league office, led by Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) being named Player of the Year for the second time in three seasons.

Ruyssen was also one of five Warriors to garner All-GLIAC status for 2024. The redshirt junior was named to the All-GLIAC First Team for singles along with Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt). It was the third straight season that Ruyssen has been on the First Team. Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland) and Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) were selected to the All-GLIAC Second Team for the category, while Dea Gorgidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) was an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention.

The tandems of Arafat/Szpakowska and Ruyssen/Komar were also on the All-GLIAC First Team for doubles after the conference split recognition across the two disciplines.

Ruyssen, the 2022 GLIAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year, put together a stellar 2024 campaign in both singles and doubles. Ranked top 40 in all but one of the national rankings this spring by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), she played at the first flight in each match she competed in within the category and totaled a 14-5 record against every program's best player. The Warrior tallied three victories over nationally ranked rivals this spring, including a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over the No. 20-ranked Si Karlsson Hantzis of Palm Beach Atlantic and a pair of wins over the No. 45-ranked Diane Flament of Indianapolis. She concluded league play with a spotless 6-0 mark.

In doubles, Ruyssen went 14-6, including a 13-6 ledger with her usual partner Marta Komar at the No. 1 position. The highlight in doubles for the top 20-ranked tandem was a 7-5 triumph against Columbus State's fifth-ranked Nikoline Gullacksen and Mariana Ramirez during the ITA Women's National Indoor Championships in Kearney, Neb.

It's the fifth time since 2002 a Warrior has been recognized with Player of the Year by the conference.

Arafat collected her first ever All-GLIAC First Team honors (both singles and doubles) after being a Second Team member following her freshman campaign a season ago. She tallied a 14-6 record in the regular season for singles, with a perfect 7-0 ledger in the GLIAC. That total includes an 11-6 mark at the second flight. The sophomore was 16-3 overall in doubles, with every victory and all but one match played with Martyna Szpakowska (16-2).

Komar was a First Team honoree in each of the last two seasons (2023 and 2022), but this year marks her third straight season being named All-GLIAC. The redshirt junior has primarily played at the No. 3 singles position and registered a 9-5 ledger at the flight. Komar went 11-6 overall in singles and 13-7 in doubles, with all but one match played with Anais Ruyssen (13-6).

Szpakowska jumped to the All-GLIAC Second Team (in singles) after being an Honorable Mention for 2023. She went 17-1 in her completed singles matches during the regular season, with a 15-1 record at the fourth flight. The sophomore was 17-2 in doubles, with all but one contest played with Malak Arafat (16-2).

Finally, Gorgidze was named All-GLIAC for the first time in her collegiate career by being an Honorable Mention. The redshirt sophomore played 11 completed singles matches for a 10-1 record during the regular season, and in 11 doubles matches for an 8-3 mark. Her doubles contests have primarily been with Shanice Weekes (London, England) as her partner (6-1 ledger).

Wayne State is at the GLIAC Tournament this weekend in Midland, Mich., as the top seed after winning the GLIAC Regular-Season Championship with a perfect 7-0 league record.

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Players Mentioned

Malak Arafat: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Dea Gorgidze: 5' 7"; Redshirt 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

Dea Gorgidze
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore

Marta Komar
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Anais Ruyssen
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

Martyna Szpakowska
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Shanice Weekes
: 5' 4"; Sophomore