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Wayne State University Athletics

Malak Arafat vs. Dallas Baptist 2025 NCAA Round of 16
Zack Belsky/WSU Athletics
Malak Arafat will be WSU's top returning player in 2025-26.
0
Wayne State WSUW (14-5)
4
Winner Midwestern State MSUW (23-3)
Wayne State WSUW
(14-5)
0
Final
4
Midwestern State MSUW
(23-3)
Winner

Match Recap: Women's Tennis | | Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Tennis Falls 4-0 In NCAA Quarterfinals

WSU finishes tied-for-fifth nationally for third straight year.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- The 2024-25 Wayne State University women's tennis squad (14-5 overall) had its season came to an end with a 4-0 setback to third-ranked Midwestern State (23-3 overall) on Thursday morning at Sanlando Park in an NCAA Quarterfinal match.  This marks the third consecutive year the Warriors, who were ranked No. 27 nationally this season, have finished tied-for-fifth at the NCAA Tournament. 

The Mustangs won the doubles point by claiming 6-2 victories at both first and second doubles.  The WSU duo of junior Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) and redshirt junior Shantala Uzcategui (Hoyo de La Puerta, Venezuela) were leading 3-2 at No. 3 doubles over Sarah Mazaraki and Sydney Williams when the match went unfinished.

At first doubles, MSU's 20th-ranked pairing of Jessica Binzari and Anda Ghinga out dueled Wayne State's #23-ranked Anais Ruyssen and Dea Gorgidze.  Midwestern State's second doubles tandem of Camila Garcia and Hannah Yip prevailed over Malak Arafat and Justine Beaulieu.

MSU went ahead 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 win at first singles, then made it 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph at No. 4 singles.  Binzari, the No. 6 ranked singles player in all of Division 2, defeated Ruyssen at the top singles flight.  Mustang Sofia Giraldo, ranked No. 32 nationally, edged Shanice Weekes at fourth singles.

The match ended with the Mustangs taking a 6-1, 7-5 victory at sixth singles as Williams defeated Szpakowska.

At No. 2 singles, junior Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt) was leading 6-4, 4-2 when her match was stopped, while redshirt junior Dea Gorgidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) had split sets (6-1, 5-7) at No. 3 singles.  Uzcategui was leading 6-3, 4-3 at fifth singles when her match was halted.

Second-year head coach Yahsha Moore's squad loses just one player to graduation in graduate student Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France), who was a three-time GLIAC Player of the Year in 2022, 2024 and 2025.

Besides the aforementioned Arafat, Gorgidze, Szpakowska, and Uzcategui, Wayne State also returns Justine Beaulieu (Montreal, Que.), Shanice Weekes (London, England) and Dessyre Obedencio (Warren, Mich. / Cousino) for 2025-26.
 
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