The 50th iteration of Wichita State women’s tennis and Tulsa on the clay court ended in Shocker history.
WSU’s 4-1 win in a senior day showdown Saturday marked its 17th straight victory, tying a program record and extending one of the best seasons for the program, as the Shockers sit at No. 28 in the ITA rankings.
Five seniors were honored at the Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex: Theodora Chantava, Anne Knuettel, Kristina Kudryavtseva, Tatyana Nikolenko and Vichitraporn Vimuktananda.
Head coach Jacob Eddins praised this year’s graduating class, saying, “They’ve meant everything to the program … they’ve impacted this program so much.”
The win Saturday also secured a perfect 6-0 record in the American Conference for WSU and preserved an undefeated home record, winning all nine matches. The Golden Hurricane fell to 13-11 and 3-3 in conference play.
Wichita State was able to get revenge after Tulsa knocked it out of the American Conference tournament last year’s quarterfinals.
The No. 34-ranked duo of Giorgia Roselli and Xin Tong Wang showed why they garner national attention, setting the tone with a 6-2 victory for WSU on doubles court one. Chantava and Kudryavtseva fell 4-1 on court two, but rattled off five straight games to win 6-4, securing the Shockers’ doubles point.
Knuettel and Vimuktananda’s doubles match was left unfinished, ahead 4-3.
The doubles point was the Shockers’ 17th of the season, and they are now 16-1 when securing it. They carried that momentum into singles play, dropping just one court.
Wang began singles play strong with a 6-0, 6-4 win on court one. Nikolenko followed her with a 6-1, 7-5 victory of her own on court six.
Chantava, who is ranked No. 102 in singles, fell in a hard-fought match on court three, 7-5, 7-5.
Vimuktananda sealed the victory for the Shockers, with a 7-5, 6-4 showing on court four.
“They’ve worked hard all year and came up in some really big moments in the season,” Eddins said. The team’s biggest moments are still ahead, however, as they are in prime position for an NCAA tournament berth.
The Shockers will travel to Houston, Texas, first for the American Conference Championship from April 16-19 at the George R. Brown Tennis Center, looking to secure an automatic NCAA bid.
