WICHITA - Wichita State continued its undefeated streak in the Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday, blowing past Southern Illinois at home, 6-1.
Facing the Valley's second-place team, the Shockers' (11-10, 6-0) win clinched the No. 1 seed at next week's State Farm MVC Tournament. Sunday's match against Evansville will give the Shockers the opportunity to go undefeated in conference play for the second-straight season.
"Southern Illinois came in today in second place and we knew that they would test us," Head Coach Colin Foster said. "We've got the targets on our back and we responded really well to that."
The Shocks got the morning started by taking the doubles point at the No. 1 and 2 positions. Sophomore Lutfiana Budiharto and senior Stephanie Dalmacio set the tone with a dominating, 8-2 victory over Melanie Delsart and Martina Vianna Ce at the top spot. The senior tandem of Florentina Hanisch and Lenore Lazaroiu followed close behind when they topped Jennifer Dien and Jessica Flannery in the No. 2 position, 8-5, to clinch the point.
Anastacia Simons and Michela Cruise earned the only doubles win for the Salukis, beating sophomore Delia Damaschin and freshman Iasmine Carpen in the No. 3 position, 8-6.
In singles play, the Shocks went to work in a hurry. Dalmacio set the pace against SIU's Emily Whitney with a 6-0, 6-0 win in the No. 2 spot. Flannery responded with the only answer of the day for the Salukis, notching a 6-0, 6-1 win against Shocker sophomore Lily Wakim.
With the 2-1 lead, the Shockers swiped the next four matches to claim the win and move to 6-0 in the conference.
Hanisch and Damaschin each posted quick wins in the No. 5 and 4 positions, respectively. Hansich downed Cruise, 6-1, 6-2 while Damaschin won 6-3, 6-1 against Vianna Ce.
Lazaroiu used a super tiebreak after splitting the first two sets with Dien in the No. 3 match, but took care of business to nab her 20th win of the season, 4-6, 6-3, 10-3. After moving up a spot in the ITA rankings, Budiharto took down Delsart in the No. 1 position, 6-4, 6-2.
The Shockers will play host to Evansville on Sunday's senior day. First serve is set for 10 a.m.
Singles Results
1. Lutfiana Budiharto (WSU) def. Melanie Delsart (SIU), 6-4, 6-2
2. Stephanie Dalmacio (WSU) def. Emily Whitney (SIU), 6-0, 6-0
3. Lenore Lazaroiu (WSU) def. Jennifer Dien (SIU), 4-6, 6-3, 10-3
4. Delia Damaschin (WSU) def. Martina Vianna Ce (SIU), 6-3, 6-1
5. Florentina Hanisch (WSU) def. Michela Cruise (SIU), 6-1, 6-2
6. Jessica Flannery (SIU) def. Lily Wakim (WSU), 6-0, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 5, 4, 3, 1
Doubles Results
1. Budiharto/Dalmacio (WSU) def. Delsart/Vianna Ce (SIU), 8-2
2. Hanisch/Lazaroiu (WSU) def. Dien/Flannery (SIU), 8-5
3. Simons/Cruise (SIU) def. Damaschin/Carpen (WSU), 8-6
-Wichita State-
