Women’s tennis
As spring storms rolled into Wichita, so did a wave of fierce matchups for Wichita State. The scheduled first game against Creighton University was canceled Friday afternoon due to weather.
The team kicked off the weekend with a dominant 4-0 sweep over the University of North Texas on senior day at the Wichita Country Club. The win marked head coach Colin Foster’s 250th victory in his career and extended the team’s win streak to six.
The doubles point came down to a tight tiebreak as senior Clara Whitaker, a Wichita native, sealed it with a thunderous overhead volley.
Singles play was no different. Sophomore Giorgia Roselli and juniors Theodora Chantava and Kristina Kudryavtseva each handled business to secure the sweep.
But the momentum against the Mean Green didn’t carry to Dallas on Sunday. The Shockers fell 4-1 to No. 63 Southern Methodist University, snapping their six-match win streak.
Despite a gutsy comeback win from Chantava and strong showings from others, SMU stole the match by outlasting the Shockers in a three-set battle.
It marked the team’s first loss in a month.
Next up, women’s tennis will stay in Texas for its last game of the regular season against No. 48 Rice University. The first serve is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Houston.
Men’s tennis
Wichita State men’s tennis team, now 11-10 in the season, came away with a 2-1 result over the weekend after facing three opponents. All three matches ended in sweeps.
Wichita State opened the weekend with a sweep at Genesis Rock Road against Creighton University. The Shockers showed off depth by taking care of business on courts three through six in singles play to earn the sweep.
Sunday began with a tough 4-0 loss to the No. 59 University of Tulsa, but the Shockers quickly rebounded to shut out Oral Roberts University by the same score.
In singles play, WSU was defeated in straight sets, which allowed Tulsa to clinch the match early.
The Shockers regrouped in the second match. WSU won the doubles point after freshmen Amir Milushev and Zaid Al Mashni won 6-1, and juniors Kristof Minarik and Luke Bracks picked up a 6-0 win.
In singles, Minarik dropped just two games in a court-one performance, while junior Alejandro Jacome and sophomore Arenui Luethi each posted convincing straight-set wins to seal the sweep against Oral Roberts.
Men’s tennis will play its second-to-last game this season against Oklahoma State University on April 9. The first serve is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Stillwater.
Track and field
The Shockers’ track and field athletes brought home 13 event wins over the weekend at the Friends Spring Open in Wichita and the Midwest Classic in Emporia.
The throwers had a strong showing at both the Friends Spring Open and the Midwest Classic.
Senior Athan Huelskamp won the shot put at Friends with a throw of 15.96 meters. Freshman Reese Goodlet and junior Ridge Estes won the women’s and men’s discus events, respectively. Junior Beau Kerschen earned his first collegiate title in the hammer throw, and Jordan Rider won the javelin at the event in Emporia.
The Shockers took the 4×100-meter relays in 39.89 seconds and senior Jaleel Montgomery won the 100-meter dash in 10.30 seconds.
With a personal best of 12.01 meters, senior Grace Lange won the triple jump. Sophomore Tyler Carroll ran the eighth fastest time in program history in the 110-meter hurdles, running at 14.02. Sophomore Josh Parrish won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.80 seconds.
The Shockers finished the meet with wins in both men’s and women’s races.
Track and field’s next meet will run on April 10 and 11 as the team competes in the Bryan Clay Multis, hosted in Azusa, California.
