Women’s tennis gears up for final event of year

The Wichita State women’s tennis team travels Friday to Dallas for the Hidden Duals hosted by Southern Methodist University, the final tournament of the season.

The same eight players who participated in the June Stewart Invitational in Nashville will lead the Shockers. Previously injured junior Aleksandra Trifunovic will also be re-joining the team.

The Shockers will take on Southern Methodist University, Tulsa, Wyoming, Sam Houston State and Texas A&M in the three-day, round-robin style event.

“It’s a little bit more of a team format,” head coach Colin Foster said. “Which, this is what we are getting ready for in the spring. So, these should be good matches to finish up our fall season.”

Coming off a cluttered fall schedule with several consecutive weekends of tournament play, last weekend’s time off was a welcome reprieve for the team, allowing for some rest and relaxation.

“We played a lot of tough matches,” Foster said. “After the last trip, which was also just a lot of travel, they were a bit worn down. But we took a couple of days off and we’ve had a good week-and-a-half of practice.”

In Dallas, the team will look to continue the strong play shown in both doubles and singles. Several players have led week in and week out and try to set a precedent for the 2016 portion of the season.

“This is the last competition for about eight or nine weeks until we get into spring play,” Foster said. “However we finish this week, that sets the tone for the offseason and going into next year. So, win or lose, we just need to continue to push ourselves on the court.”