Northwest Wayne News

The Wayne State University women's tennis team secured a victory against Tiffin University in the NCAA Midwest Regional final, advancing to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16. The match, held in Detroit, saw the No. 1-seeded Warriors (13-4 overall) narrowly defeat the No. 4-seeded Dragons (20-7 overall) with a score of 4-3.

Wayne State's progression to this stage marks their third consecutive appearance in the Round of 16. The upcoming tournament will be hosted at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

During doubles play, Tiffin took an early lead by winning two out of three matches. The pairing of Anais Ruyssen and Dea Gorgidze was defeated 6-2 by Emily Barrett and Jemimah Choi at the No. 1 position. However, Malak Arafat and Justine Beaulieu managed to secure a win for Wayne State at No. 2 doubles, overcoming Carina Gilman and Anaelle Lepinay with a score of 7-5. In the final doubles match, Shanice Weekes and Martyna Szpakowska were narrowly beaten by Francesca Milani and Celine Ferron with a scoreline of 7-6 (7-3).

In singles competition, Ruyssen triumphed over Choi after losing the first set 7-5 but recovering to win the next two sets 7-6 (8-6) and 6-1 at the No. 1 position. Arafat also had to rally back from an initial set loss to Barrett, eventually winning their encounter at No. 2 singles with scores of 2-6, 6-4, and 7-6 (8-6). Gorgidze added another point for Wayne State by defeating Lepinay decisively with scores of 6-1 and 6-3 at No. 3 singles.

However, both Weekes and Beaulieu faced defeats in their respective singles matches at positions four and five. Weekes lost to Gilman after a tough battle that ended with scores of 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, and 4-6 while Beaulieu was overcome by Milani with scores of 2-6 and 5-7.

With the match tied at three points each, Szpakowska's performance was crucial in securing Wayne State's advancement as she competed against Anisha Sivakumar at No. 6 singles. Szpakowska won her opening set comfortably with a scoreline of 6-3 but dropped the second set after Sivakumar came back strong to win it in a tiebreaker, finishing it off at 7–6 (7–3). Despite this setback, Szpakowska regained control in the deciding set clinching victory for her team with another 6–3 win.

Wayne State is now preparing for their next challenge where they will compete on May 21st against an opponent yet to be determined based on other regional outcomes.