Both Wichita State tennis teams were able to win their first match of the American Athletic Conference Championship, but both fell in the second round of the tournament.
The Shockers’ men’s team ended the season with a 12-13 overall record, a seven-win improvement from last year. The women’s team finished 13-10, identical to their record last season.
Men’s team
After two straight 4-0 losses to close out the regular season, the No. 8 seed Shockers got a sweep of their own against No. 9 UAB in the first round on Thursday
In doubles, WSU won 6-3 and 6-4 on courts one and three to secure the early point..
The dominance continued into singles play, as the Shockers claimed matches on courts one, two and six and left three matches unfinished. Sophomore Vanja Hodzic and juniors Alejandro Jacome and Luke Bracks led the charge.
WSU met its match in round two of the AAC Championship, losing on Friday to top-seeded South Florida, 4-1.
The Shockers claimed the doubles point again, with 6-2 and 6-3 wins on courts two and three.. Freshman Ilias Worthington and junior Kristof Minarik won on court two, and Bracks and Hodzic on court three.
In singles, the Bulls rebounded and won in four straight matches to seal the win.
Women’s team
In the women’s tournament, the No. 5 Shockers secured a first-round win against No. 12 East Carolina, 4-1, on Thursday.
In doubles, WSU won the early point. Sophomores Xin Tong Wang and Giorgia Roselli won 6-2, and juniors Theodora Chantava and Kristina Kudryavtseva won with the same score.
In singles, the Shockers won three matches to seal the victory. Wang, Kudryavtseva and junior Anne Knuettel all won in straight sets. The win broke a three-match losing streak to close the regular season.
WSU’s championship hopes were ended by Tulsa, 4-3, on Friday. The Shockers beat them earlier in the year, but were not able to replicate the feat in a tight loss.
The Hurricane started ahead and won the doubles point. Chantava and Kudryavtseva were the only Shockers to win their match, 6-3.
In singles, Roselli, Chantava and Knuettel all won their matches in straight sets.
Tulsa won two matches to knot the score at 3-3.
The game came down to Kudryavtseva, whose singles match came down to a tiebreaker. In set one, she lost 6-3, but came back to win the second, 7-5.
In the tiebreaker, she went down swinging, 6-2.
