Wichita State men’s tennis’ season was filled with firsts under fourth-year coach Darragh Glavin.
The Shockers climbed to No. 57 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s rankings — their highest since February 2022. They rattled off eight-straight wins — the program’s longest streak in 18 years. A win in March over No. 34 Oklahoma State was their highest-ranked victory since beating then-No. 32 Memphis in 2021.
But what started as a promising second half this spring was quickly halted in Wichita State’s first match in the American Conference Championship Friday morning, as the fifth-seeded Shockers were swept 4-0 in the quarterfinals by fourth-seeded South Florida.
Coincidentally, it was the second season in a row that WSU was knocked out of the conference tournament by the Bulls.
Still, the Shockers finished with their best record since Glavin was hired in 2022 — a 13-10 mark that signals growth for future seasons.
Wichita State could return up to seven players next year, all of whom would still have two to three seasons of eligibility remaining.
But on the courts at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., the youth of this year’s team was overmatched by South Florida’s veteran makeup.
The Bulls jumped out to a 1-0 lead after snagging the doubles point and didn’t stop from there.
Wichita State’s duo of Pablo Roche Alcaya and Zaid Al Mashni did set an early tone, though, winning 6-1 on the No. 1 court. But the Shockers’ pairings on courts No. 2 and 3 couldn’t find momentum of their own, falling in 6-3 decisions.
That early deficit carried into singles play, as South Florida won the necessary matches in straight sets.
On singles court No. 1, sophomore Ilias Worthington lost the first three points in each set before threatening a comeback. It was too little, too late, each time as he fell 6-3 and 6-2.
After dropping the first set of the first match on singles court No. 6, senior Luke Bracks knotted the score at 1-1 before five straight points from South Florida ended in a 6-1 loss in the first set.
Bracks trailed 3-0 in the second set before rattling off four wins in a row to take a slim 4-3 advantage. But he couldn’t carry the same momentum the rest of it, eventually falling 7-5 in the second of a straight-set loss.
Roche Alcaya then fell in a heartbreaker on singles court No. 3 that ended the Shockers’ season. He forced his match into overtime in the first set, but eventually lost it 7(7)-6(5). Roche Alcaya lost the second set, 6-3.
This season showed the trajectory of where Wichita State’s men’s tennis team is headed. And even though it fell short of a conference title, the experience gained will be invaluable.
Now, it’s time to put those lessons to work.
