Wichita State’s No. 68-ranked women’s tennis team won its senior day match against Louisiana Tech University on Saturday, 4-2.
The Shockers wrapped up the regular season with a 12-9 record after the win. Louisiana Tech dropped to 14-8 overall.
Graduate student Jessica Anzo and redshirt senior Natsumi Kurahashi were honored during the match.
“Whether it’s injuries or school or life or whatever, these two come every day ready to work and communicate well,” Wichita State head coach Colin Foster said. “They have good attitudes, and they really represent and have always represented our team and themselves in this university really well.”
Wichita State earned the early doubles point as it came down to the final match.
On court two, the duo of freshman Xin Tong Wang and Kurahashi breezed by with a 6-0 win. Sophomore Theodora Chantava and freshman Giorgia Roselli lost on court three, 6-4.
Sophomore Kristina Kudryavtseva and Anzo’s match on the second court went back and forth, and the pair of Shockers won the doubles point for Wichita State in 11 extra points, 7(7)-6(4).
“It was both me and Kristina working together as a team,” Anzo said. “Coach (Foster) says, ‘You can control what you can control, just focus on one point at a time.’”
Anzo said winning her final doubles match at the Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex brought her joy and excitement.
“I was a little bit relieved but mostly excited,” Anzo said. “I’m glad me and Kristina were able to pull it out today.”
Tightly contested matches continued throughout singles play, and the Shockers managed to walk away with the overall win.
On court four, junior Anne Knuettel lost in two sets by 6-1 in each, bringing the overall score to a 1-1 tie.
After losing the first set on court three, Chantava bounced back and won the next two sets by scores of 6-0 and 6-1.
Kurahashi won her final singles match at home on court two, flying past her opponent in two sets, 6-4 and 6-3.
“I tried to keep her moving and use the wind today,” Kurahashi said. “I also tried to play more aggressively … because most of the time, she (the other player) will be aggressive to me.”
Wang lost on court one after winning the first set, 6-4. In sets two and three, Wang lost by scores of 6-4 to bring the Bulldogs within one point, 3-2.
Kudryavtseva brought home the win for Wichita State on court five in another back-and-forth match. Kudryavtseva won 7-5 in set one, lost 6-2 in set two, then bounced back in set three, winning 6-4.
Anzo’s match on court six was left unfinished.
Rob Foster, father of Colin Foster, said it was important to come out and show support on this special occasion.
“You feel like it’s part of the family here,” Rob said. “It’s nice to see Natsu(mi) and Jess(ica) finish their careers here, and we wanted to support that, so we came out for the big weekend.”
The Shockers’ women’s tennis team will shift their focus to the American Athletic Conference Championship in Dallas, Texas, from Wednesday, April 17, to Sunday, April 21. Wichita State currently sits as the seventh seed out of 14 teams.
