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Wayne State University Athletics

4
Winner Wayne State WSUW (21-3)
3
Grand Valley State GV-W (15-6)
Winner
Wayne State WSUW
(21-3)
4
Final
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Grand Valley State GV-W
(15-6)
Women's Tennis 2023 GLIAC Championship Photo
GLIAC Media Relations
The Wayne State women's tennis team after their GLIAC Championship win vs. GVSU on Sunday.

Match Recap: Women's Tennis | | Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Tennis Outlasts Grand Valley State 4-3, Wins 2023 GLIAC Title

Marta Komar broke a 3-3 tie with her three-set victory in the final match of the day.

MIDLAND, Mich. -- The eighth-ranked Wayne State University women's tennis team (21-3 overall) needed and received heroics to defeat No. 17-ranked Grand Valley State (15-6 overall) 4-3 and win back-to-back GLIAC Championships.

Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland) picked up a three-set singles win with the Warriors and Lakers tied 3-3 to lift WSU to a fourth conference title in the last five tournaments.

Grand Valley State was the top seed for the weekend, while Wayne State was the second seed.

DOUBLES
For a second time against GVSU this season, WSU lost the doubles point and trailed early in the match.

The lone winners were Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) and Shanice Weekes (London, England) at the No. 3 spot.  The two continued dominant doubles play by recording a 6-1 win over Ana Romero Gonzalez and Amanda Diaz.  They improved their winning streak to 11 consecutive doubles matches. 

Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt) and Dea Gorgidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) fell 6-4 at the second position to Rachel Sam and Estefania Hernandez.

The first point came down to the all-ranked action at the top flight.  The No. 20-ranked duo of Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) and Komar squared off with the No. 14-ranked Taylor Barrett and Vasileia Griva.  The set required a tiebreaker, and the Laker team prevailed by a score of 7-6 (4) to nab a 1-0 advantage.

SINGLES
Following doubles, the Green and Gold trailed 1-0 for a second time this season vs. Grand Valley State.  However, this time the squad came through when it mattered most and posted wins in four of the six contests to win another championship.

The No. 28-ranked Ruyssen handled Griva at the No. 1 singles spot by scores of 6-3, 6-2.  The junior extended her singles winning streak to six matches.

Szpakowska won her 21st singles match in a row, topping Hernandez 6-3, 7-5 at the No. 5 spot.

Weekes, meanwhile, improved her own winning streak to 13 with her 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Diaz at the sixth flight.

Grand Valley State notched wins from Sam and Anna Soteras at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively.  Sam defeated Arafat in a 7-6 (5) tiebreaker to conclude the opening set.  The WSU freshman then lost the second set, 6-2.

Gorgidze dropped a straight set decision to Soteras.  She lost in close fashion, 7-5, in the first set, then was shutout in the second set (6-0)

With the score tied 3-3 and the title on the line, all eyes were on the action at the second position.  Komar won the opening set 6-3 vs. Barrett to jump out to an early advantage.  The junior came close to ending the match in straight sets, but Barrett pulled out a 7-6 (4) triumph in the second set to keep the Lakers alive.  Komar then gutted through a 6-4 win in the final set to send the Warriors back to Detroit with the hardware.

UP NEXT
Wayne State earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with its victory (the eighth in a row for the team).  The location for the upcoming NCAA Midwest Regional is yet to be determined, and will be announced on Monday, April 24, in the NCAA Selection Show at 8:30 p.m.  It will be streamed on NCAA's website.

 
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