DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's tennis squad will enter the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament as the No. 1-seed after a flawless 8-0 record in conference matches. The tournament will span over three days (4/25-27) with matches played at the Greater Midland Tennis Center.
Due to being the No. 1-seed, the Green and Gold received a first-round bye and will face the winner of the match between Saginaw Valley State University and Lake Superior State University. If the Warriors triumph in their semifinal match, they will compete against either Grand Valley State University, Ferris State University, or Davenport University for the Tournament Championship.
BELOW IS THE FULL WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
First Round -- Friday, April 25 4:00 PM
Match 1: No. 1 Wayne State (bye)
Match 2: No. 4 Saginaw Valley State vs. No. 5 Lake Superior State
Match 3: No. 2 Grand Valley State (bye)
Match 4: No. 3 Ferris State vs. No. 6 Davenport
Second Round -- Saturday, April 26 3:00 PM
Match 5: No. 1 Wayne State vs. Winner of Match 2
Match 6: No. 2 Grand Valley State vs. Winner of Match 4
Final Round -- Sunday, April 27 3:00 PM
Match 7 (Championship): Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
WSU opened its conference portion of the regular season with SVSU, prevailing 6-1. SVSU finished the season with a 5-11 overall mark which includes a 4-4 GLIAC record. LSSU closed its regular season with a 7-8 record that included a 4-4 mark in GLIAC contests. When facing the Lakers, Wayne State earned a 5-2 win in Sault Ste. Marie.
The opposite side of the bracket consists of Grand Valley State University, Ferris State University, and Davenport University. Grand Valley State enters the tournament as the No. 2-seed with a 13-4 overall record that includes a 7-1 GLIAC record, with the sole loss coming at the hands of the Warriors (5-2). WSU nabbed wins over both FSU (7-0) and DU (7-0), as the Bulldogs finished the season with an 11-7 record (6-2 GLIAC) while the Panthers earned an 11-12 mark (3-5 GLIAC).
REGIONAL RANKINGS UPDATE
In the most recent NCAA Midwest Region Ranking, the Warriors sit atop the list as the No. 1-ranked squad in the Midwest. The Green and Gold is joined by GVSU and FSU as the three GLIAC teams to receive rankings. The Midwest Region consists of squads from the GLIAC, Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), and Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The winners of each conference tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament, with four teams receiving at-large bids.
BELOW IS THE FULL REGIONAL RANKING:
1. Wayne State
2. Findlay
3. Grand Valley State
4. Ferris State
5. Tiffin
6. Northwood
7. UIndy
8. Hillsdale
9. Rockhurst
ITA RANKINGS UPDATE
On Wednesday morning, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released its newest national poll, with the WSU women's tennis team appearing as the No. 24-ranked team in the country. Along with the team rankings, the ITA released its singles and doubles polls with WSU student-athletes being represented on both. In singles, Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland / Sopocka Akademia Tenisowa) is the sole members of the women's tennis team to be listed, as she is the No. 63-ranked singles player. In doubles, the duos of Szpakowska and Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt / Lycée Français d'Alexandrie) (No. 16-ranked) and Dea Gorgidze (Tbilisi, Georgia Tbilisi Public School N145 [Western Michigan]) and Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France / Enfants-Nantais [Keiser]) (No. 24-ranked) appeared for WSU.
Stay tuned to wsuathletics.com on Friday, April 25, for women's tennis updates regarding All-GLIAC recognition as well as the squad's opponent for its second-round match.
