Eastern Wayne Today

The Wayne State University women's tennis team, ranked 14th nationally, is preparing for an upcoming match against Hillsdale College. The competition is scheduled for Friday, February 28, at the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Center in Hillsdale, Michigan. The match will commence at 2:00 PM.

Hillsdale College enters the contest with a record of five wins and two losses. Recently, they secured consecutive victories against Purdue University Northwest and the University of Illinois Springfield. Within their conference play, they have defeated Lake Superior State University and Davenport University but faced defeats from Michigan Tech University and Ferris State University.

Nikki Walbright leads the Chargers as head coach after returning to her role following a two-season hiatus. Since joining Hillsdale in 2011, Walbright has guided the team to three Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament Championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Under her leadership, Hillsdale has achieved an overall record of 103 wins and 90 losses.

In recent national rankings released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), Wayne State maintains its position at number 14 for the second week running. The top ten schools include Valdosta State University, West Florida University, Flagler College, Washburn University of Topeka, Barry University, Saint Leo University, Rollins College, Columbus State University, the University of Indianapolis, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Wayne State's last match on February 15 saw them narrowly defeat Findlay University with a scoreline of 4-3. In doubles play during that encounter, pairings Anais Ruyssen with Dea Gorgidze; Malak Arafat with Shanice Weekes; and Shantala Uzcategui with Justine Beaulieu all secured victories to earn the doubles point for their team.

In singles matches against Findlay University players Ruyssen (7-5, 6-2), Arafat (4-6, 6-1, 7-6), and Gorgidze (6-0, 6-2) each won their respective contests contributing significantly to Wayne State's overall victory.