Despite valiant efforts, the Wichita State women’s tennis team lost 2-5 to Kansas State on Friday.

In doubles, the No. 1 duo of Esther Thebault and Lingwei Kong won their matchup, 6-4. The No. 2 pair of Sandra Honigova and Marta Bellucco fought their way back from a 1-3 disparity to lead 5-4 before dropping three straight for a 5-7 loss. The No. 3 pair of Alexandra Lazarova and Ting-Ya Hsu were bested, 3-6.

On the switch to singles, the No. 4 Marta Bellucco saw success, fighting back from 1-4 to win the first set 6-4 before taking the second, 6-2. Her teammate, Ting-Ya Hsu, won her matchup 8-3. The No. 3 Lingwei Kong went  4-6 and 6-0 in sets one and two, respectively, before losing the third, 2-6.

Head coach Colin Foster said he was proud of his team’s fight.

“I just told the team that I was really proud of their fight,” Foster said.

He acknowledged that Kansas State was a formidable opponent.

“We were on our game, but so were they [K-State],” Foster said.

With their record now sitting at 1-3 to start the season, the Shockers will look to turn things around in their next contest against Arkansas on Sunday.

“Everyone’s giving themselves chances, which as a coach and a competitor is all I can ask for,” Foster said.

After Arkansas, the team will hit the road again until Feb. 22.