The RoundHouse | 5/11/2018 10:14:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Gabriela Porubin is majoring in political science, but that's not really enough for the Wichita State senior. 
 
She loves video work and photography and regrets not considering a communications major more seriously. She also considered a philosophy major. Her next job – after Wichita State's tennis season ends – is to figure out how to combine all the skills and knowledge when she returns to Moldova. 
 
"She's really become a complete person," Wichita State coach Colin Foster said. "Growing up, I think tennis was such a focus and she was such a high-level and highly ranked player and I think, maybe, that didn't allow her the chance to explore these other interests."
 
 The 35th^h-ranked Shockers (17-8) play No. 27 Syracuse (17-7) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Oxford, Miss., on Friday. It is Wichita State's 10^thconsecutive NCAA appearance and 12^thoverall. The winner plays either Mississippi (20-6), the tournament's No. 5 seed, or Missouri State (12-9), which won the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid.
 
Porubin is making her fourth NCAA appearance and this one stands out because it is Wichita State's first as an at-large team. The Shockers earned this one with a season's body of work against a schedule that included 11 schools in the 64-team field and wins over No. 32 Arkansas, No. 39 Florida International, No. 42 Kansas State and No. 49 Oklahoma. After years dominating the MVC – Wichita State went 89-0 in dual matches over its final nine seasons as a member - the Shockers took a different path in their first season in the American Athletic Conference.
 
"We didn't win the conference, but we still got in, so that tells about the depth of our team," she said. "This year is pretty special."
 
Foster is interested to see how his team reacts in NCAA play after playing a more challenging schedule. The American does not play a conference schedule during the regular season. The MVC did, which locked Wichita State into several non-competitive matches each season. Last season, for example, the Shockers won seven of their eight final matches before NCAA play without dropping a point. 
 
This season, the Shockers ended the regular season with five of six matches against top-50 opponents. They defeated Oklahoma and Kansas State and lost to No. 9 Oklahoma State and American opponents No. 22 Central Florida and No. 24 Tulsa.
 
"I almost feel like it's given us a different feel in practice these weeks," Foster said. "In the past, we were usually coming in off a double-digit win streak . . . where we know we haven't really beaten any quality programs in that double-digit win streak. We hadn't been tested, win or lose, in a close match in many weeks."
 
The result, Foster hopes, is a team that is used to running at a high level as it enters NCAA play, as opposed to one that could afford to back off during MVC play in past seasons.
 
"It feels like we're in mid-season form," he said. "There hadn't been a need to have that urgency through (MVC) play and then it's hard to kind of turn that back on."
 
Porubin came to Wichita State with no video or photography experience. In four years, she's learned to shoot and produce videos that document life with the tennis team and their Friday mentoring trips to Cloud Elementary School as part of the Pando Initiative. She took photos of the Foster family around campus and learned photo illustration and design skills.
 
"I'm a person that likes to try so many things, really challenge myself," she said. "I have a lot of hobbies."
 
Her videos for the Elliott School of Communication Sports Projects class (escsportsprojects.com), taught by associate professor Kevin Hager, included a profile of Alan Myrtle, a fan who dedicates himself to attending Shocker women's sports. Porubin credits Hager with teaching her to dig into stories and find interesting angles. 
 
"You can just really tell she's putting some thought and effort into these video projects," Hager said. "She'll use several different styles. She's experimented. She'll got to multiple locations and not rely on video from just one spot."
 
She noticed Myrtle at matches and wanted to explain his dedication to tennis, softball and other women's sports.
 
"He is so intentional and devoted to supporting us," she said. "He doesn't care that he's the only one in the crowd. I liked that story a lot because it's something people don't really know about."
 
Porubin also feels strongly about the Friday lunches at Cloud Elementary. She and her teammates read, play games and talk with the students. Foster wanted a long-term project for his team and it started at Cloud around five years ago. The relationships hold over from year to year.
 
"It's one of my favorite community services that we do because I can see improvement and I can see how our input has results with the kids," she said. "We get the kids who have troubles in their family or troubles with their personality and really seeing an improvement is such a cool thing to watch."
 
Porubin will leave Wichita State with four seasons of tennis success, a diverse transcript and diverse set of skills for the profession she chooses. The experience in the United States, she said, opened pathways unavailable in Moldova.
 
"I'm glad I did because at home, we don't have a ton of universities," she said. "It's very rigid. If you want to change your major, you have to start all over again. You don't have this opportunity to get involved or to take so many different styles of courses that will lead your desires and interests."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.