Xin Tong Wang, Alejandro Jacome and Kristof Minarik made Wichita State tennis history at a collegiate national championship tournament last month.
They became the first Wichita State men’s and women’s tennis players to advance out of the pre-qualifying stages of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American Championships in over a decade.
Wang, a sophomore, competed for the Shockers in the women’s singles tournament in Cary, North Carolina, becoming the first woman to advance out of pre-qualifiers since 2009.
Jacome, a junior, and Minarik, a redshirt junior, competed in both singles and doubles in Tulsa, Oklahoma, becoming the first male duo to make it to the qualifying round in doubles since 2011.
Head women’s tennis coach Colin Foster said that while everyone at the national level has “got the talent and ability,” the WSU players rose to the occasion, pulling strength from other qualities as well.
”All the matches are competitive, but just kind of (being a) little bit more consistent, picking the right moments to be aggressive and just having a competitive mindset, no matter what, (helped them get to this point).”
Wang’s winning ways
Wang said the ITA All-American Championship was the biggest tournament she’s played in since leaving China to attend WSU last year.
Wang described the tournament as a “business trip” where her goal was to “just win.”
“She just, really just kept coming back,” Foster said. “You know, she, if she got behind, she just kept fighting …. then (when she) gets a little momentum and gets on a roll, she won.”
The ITA selected her to compete in the tournament based on a freshman campaign at WSU where she won 27 dual matches (singles and doubles) and was an All-American Athletic Conference first-team selection.
During the tournament, Wang beat four power-four conference opponents, making it to the second qualifying round in singles. She said she felt good about her performance overall.
“I think it (was a) good experience for me,” Wang said. “I got to see different (types) of (players) and from different (schools) and different (conferences).”
Going into each match, she said she researched her opponents to see their rankings. As the matches were underway, Wang said they played differently than on paper.
“But when we (started) playing the match, I didn’t feel like (such a) big difference (between) me and … my opponent,” Wang said. “So I just (started saying), ‘OK, that’s not too big (of a) deal … just play my match and let’s see the result.’ So if I play my match (and do) my job, the result will be good. And I didn’t think too much (about) the result. (I) just played my match.”
Wang said despite winning, the matches put a little pressure on her. Ultimately, they helped push her game further.
“(They) helped me,” she said. “Because I saw some places I can improve (more), where I should (work) more during practices and bring to the season.”
Jacome and Minarik find rhythm and swing
Like Wang, Jacome and Minarik were selected by the ITA to compete in the tournament.
This was Minarik’s first collegiate competition since an elbow injury that forced him to redshirt the season last spring.
The pair of men’s players competed in singles and doubles. Each were knocked out of the singles side of the tournament after both of their first pre-qualifier matches. Minarik and Jacome expressed that they could have done better during the singles matches.
“For me, singles is always the priority,” Minarik said. “So, that’s why I was a little disappointed (that) I lost in the first round … I learned that I need … more match play to get that confidence back and the ability to play my levels again.”
In doubles, the pair achieved much more success, pulling off a few upsets before losing in the qualifying round. Jacome said he and Minarik “played one of the best doubles (matches) … so far this season.”
“We feel like Ohio State was a good win and I feel like I played pretty great overall,” Jacome said.
Minarik said he and Jacome “kind of finally understood we have some chemistry together,” giving them confidence “to beat very good teams.” Jacome shared the sentiment.
“I learned how to communicate with him better, give him positive vibes,” Jacome said. “(There was) a lot of support from me and him.”
Minarik said that his and Jacome’s performance during the tournament could give more players in the WSU tennis program the confidence “to achieve our goals and maybe even overachieve our goals.”
“It shows that it’s possible for the other guys as well, not just for us,” Minarik said. “It gives them the confidence that if we can do it, they can do it.”
But for himself and Jacome, “this just gives us the reason to work harder.”
“Even because it shows us that we have a chance to do some good things,” he said. “Maybe qualify for the NCAA Individual Championship, maybe get ranked and help the team in the spring season as well.”
