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Wayne State University Athletics

0
Wayne State WSUW (24-4)
4
Winner Hawaii Pacific HPU (16-7)
Wayne State WSUW
(24-4)
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Final
4
Hawaii Pacific HPU
(16-7)
Winner
Shanice Weekes vs. IUP (NCAA Round of 16 - 05-12-2023)
Manuela Davies/USTA
Shanice Weekes nearly won a set on Saturday vs. HPU, but her match went unfinished tied at 6-6 in the opening set.

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

Historic Season for Women's Tennis Ends With NCAA Quarterfinals Loss to Hawaii Pacific

The Warriors were playing in the quarterfinal round for the first time in program history.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The seventh-ranked Wayne State University women's tennis team (24-4 overall) saw its season come to an end on Saturday night with a 4-0 setback to No. 17-ranked Hawaii Pacific University (16-7 overall) at the USTA National Campus.

The Warriors were playing a match in the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in program history after advancing out of the Round of 16 on Friday.  It was the first time ever that the WSU and HPU programs faced each other.

Wayne State came into the match as the six seed, while the Sharks were seeded in third after winning their regional.

DOUBLES
The doubles point went to Hawaii Pacific, grabbing both completed matches to move ahead 1-0.

The No. 14-ranked doubles team of Anais Ruyssen (Nantes, France) and Marta Komar (Inowroclaw, Poland) drew the fourth-ranked Shaline Pipa and Marleen Tilgner at the first flight -- the second-highest ranked tandem the two faced all season.  The two juniors fell 6-1 to finish the season with a 16-7 dual match record.

Martyna Szpakowska (Gdansk, Poland) and Shanice Weekes (London, England) dropped a 6-4 decision to Nicole Ballach and Mihoki Miyahara at the third position, giving the early advantage in the overall match to the Sharks.  Despite the defeat, the two freshmen put together a strong 19-6 dual match record together for the entire season.

Not finishing on Saturday were Malak Arafat (Alexandria, Egypt) and Dea Gorgidze (Tbilisi, Georgia).  The two were locked in a close contest at the No. 2 spot, down 6-5 to Elodie Busson and Abigail Wild when their match ended early.

SINGLES
Hawaii Pacific went on to sweep every completed set in singles to advance to the semifinals. 

Matches were finished at the second, third, and fourth positions.  At the No. 2 spot, Komar played a ranked opponent for the second time this season in Busson (the eighth-ranked player in Division II).  The junior dropped the contest in straight sets (6-0, 6-3).

Arafat also drew a ranked opponent, as she faced the No. 56-ranked Tilgner at the No. 3 spot.  The freshman fell by the same scores as teammate Komar but in the opposite order, falling 6-3 in the opening set and being shutout 6-0 in the second set.  Arafat concluded the season with a 22-5 dual match record this spring.

Gorgidze suffered a pair of 6-2 setbacks in straight sets as she was defeated by Wild at the fourth flight.

Among the three unfinished matches, two Warriors nearly claimed set victories in their respective contests.  Ruyssen, the No. 30-ranked singles player in the country, fell in a tiebreaker to the No. 28-ranked Pipa at the No. 1 spot.  That was the only set the two were able to finish.

Weekes was locked in a 6-6 battle with Miyahara at the No. 6 spot.  She trailed 5-1 in the tiebreaker at the moment the match ended.

At the fifth position, Szpakowska's match against Ballach was also unfinished.  The WSU freshman lost 6-3 in the first set, with the second set being tied at 1-1 when Hawaii Pacific put the finishing touches on its victory.

Both Weekes and Szpakowska were not able to add to their team-leading 23 singles wins in dual matches.  They finished the season as co-team leaders in that category with just one total loss between the two first year student-athletes.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will look ahead to the 2023-24 tennis season after finishing this campaign with a 24-4 team record, a second consecutive GLIAC Championship, and a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in team history.  The team completed its season with four freshmen routinely in the starting lineup, who will all have a full season under their belts for next year.

 
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