WICHITA, Kan.- The No. 64 Shocker women's tennis team fell in a very close match to Denver, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at Wichita Country Club.

The two teams made it known they were going to battle each other in the doubles contests. After Sophia Bergner and Steffi Rath of Denver defeated Lucia Kovalova and Veronika Blaskova, 8-1, Rebecca Pedrazzi and Carla Venticinque came back from 6-2 down to defeat Emma Isberg and Mandy van den Eerenbeemt (Denver), 8-6, in a thrilling doubles match.

The Shockers would drop the doubles point however, when Caroline Schnell and Charlotte Derbyshire of Denver defeated Montse Blasco Fernandez and Satjaporn Mahajaroenkul, 8-7(4), in another close match.

In singles play, Montse Blasco Fernandez put the Shockers on the board when she defeated Charlotte Derbyshire, 6-2, 6-3. Then, after Sophia Bergner defeated Lucia Kovalova, 6-2, 6-3, Rebecca Pedrazzi closed the deficit to one point when she took down Caroline Schnell, 6-0, 7-5.

The Pioneers clinched the match in the next singles contest, as Emma Isberg defeated Satjaporn Mahajaroenkul, 6-1, 7-5. In the last singles contest to finish, freshman Julia Schiller was able to capture her first win as Shocker, defeating Steffi Rath, 6-4, 3-6, 10-5.

"It was one of those matches that most definitely could have gone either way," head coach Colin Foster said. "It's disappointing to come up short, but we will bounce back and address some areas for improvement, while continuing to build on the areas we are playing well in."

The Shocker women have two weeks before UMKC comes to Wichita Country Club on Saturday, February 16 for a match that will begin at 3 p.m.

-WICHITA STATE-