St. Louis, Mo. - Wichita State defeated the Salukis, 4-0 on Saturday morning in the semifinals of the 2011 State Farm MVC Tennis Championship. With the win the Shockers advance to their sixth consecutive MVC Tournament final on Sunday at 10 a.m. The Shocks are seeking their third consecutive tournament title and will face the winner Illinois State. An automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament is on the line.
WSU clinched the doubles point against SIU with a win by Lutfiana Budiharto and Valerie Brockman over Vishakha Sheoran and Anita Lee in the No. 3 match, 9-7. Delia Damaschin and Carla Venticinque won the No. 2 doubles match, 8-2 over Korey Love and Anastacia Simons for the Shocks other victory.
"We came out early in the doubles with great energy and set the tone for the match,"head coach Colin Foster said. "The coniditions weren't ideal today but we competed well and got to four."
Damaschin clinched the match win for the Shockers with her defeat of Jennifer Dien, 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 3 match. Veronika Blaskova and Montse Blasco Fernandez each continued their strong play with wins in the No. 2 and No. 5 matches, respectively.
"It was good to see Carla and Lutfia turining their matches around and they both had more momentum toward the end of the match," Foster said. "Valerie did a great job of playing well these last two days even though she hasn't had consistent playing time this season."
"I'm very proud of this group and I know they will give it everything they have tomorrow."
You can follow the State Farm MVC Tennis final live tomorrow at the link above.
Wichita State 4 Southern Illinois 0
Singles
1. Lutfiana Budiharto (WSU) vs. Melanie Delsart (SIU) 6-2, 3-2, unfinished
2. Veronika Blaskova (WSU) def. Anita Lee (SIU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Delia Damaschin (WSU) def. Jennifer Dien (SIU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Carla Venticinque (WSU) vs. Korey Love (SIU) 6-2, 3-3 unfinished
5. Montse Blasco Fernandez (WSU) def. Anastacia Simons (SIU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Valerie Brockman (WSU) vs. Vishakha Sheoran (SIU) 6-1, 5-5 unfinished
Doubles
1. Blaskova/Blasco Fernandez (WSU) vs. Delsart/Dien (SIU) 7-6 unfinished
2. Damaschin/Venticinque (WSU) def. Love/Simons (SIU) 8-2
3. Budiharto/Brockman (WSU) def. Sheoran/Lee (SIU) 9-7
Order of Finish
Doubles (23*) Singles (253*)
-WICHITA STATE-
