Women’s tennis remains hopeful after falling to Houston

After a successful set, graduate student Lingwei Kong smiles during a doubles match against Houston on April 1. (Mia Hennen / The Sunflower)

Injuries have plagued the Wichita State Women’s tennis team this season which has caused issues in finding a complete lineup in singles and struggling to find the right combinations in doubles. 

“It’s been a rough go lately but everyone’s competing really hard and staying positive so you know as a coach that’s really all you can ask for,” Head Coach Colin Foster said. 

The Shockers remain winless in conference play after a match against Houston on Friday. However, strong play in singles gave the Shockers hope for the American Athletic Conference tournament in a few weeks. 

Foster said sophomore Jessie Zheng has improved immensely during matches. Zheng beat her opponent (6-2, 4-2) at No. 3 singles against the Cougars. 

“Just understanding kind of the ups and downs you know over the course of a long season but also within an individual match there is going to be you know ups and downs and just managing that better and just staying positive,” Foster said.

WSU added Division-II Emporia State to their schedule recently in order to make adjustments. 

“We’ve been struggling especially in doubles lately trying to find the right combination so this will give us a chance to obviously practice this week and in that match maybe try out some different combinations and you know hopefully build some confidence in the singles,” Foster said. 

The Shockers will close out play at home on Wednesday, April 6 against ESU at the Coleman Tennis Complex in Wichita at 3 p.m.