WICHITA, Kan. – The 62nd ranked Shockers will take on No. 74 Missouri on Sunday and UT-Arlington on Monday. Both matches will be at the Wichita Country Club in Wichita at 10 a.m.
Wichita State takes a four dual-match winning streak into this weekend's action. They defeated Creighton, UMKC, No. 66 Fresno State, and No. 43 Illinois. Their only losses on the year came to No. 44 Arkansas when they lost both matches of a double-header back on Jan 19 to begin their dual-match season.
Montse Blasco Fernandez and Abby Stevens lead the Shockers with 13-5 records in singles play. Stevens and Blasco Fernandez are on a tear in singles play, with Stevens on a six-match winning streak while Blasco Fernandez is on a three-match winning streak. Julia Schiller, who's 11-5, is on a five-match winning streak of her own.
The teams of Blasco Fernandez/Rebecca Pedrazzi (No. 9 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Central Doubles Rankings) and Schiller/Stevens (No. 7 in the ITA's Central Doubles Rankings) both have 11 wins apiece to lead the Shockers in doubles play.
Blasco Fernandez/Pedrazzi as a team is 11-4, has a five-match winning streak in doubles play, and is 8-2 in their last ten doubles matches. Schiller/Pedrazzi is 11-5 and is 6-4 in their last ten doubles matches.
Blasco Fernandez Earns Second Career MVC Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week Honors
The Missouri Valley Conference announced this week that Blasco Fernandez won MVC Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors. This is her second career MVC Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honor, as she was previously named on March 26, 2013.
Blasco Fernandez went 3-0 in combined play during her matches against No. 66 Fresno State on Feb. 8 and No. 43 Illinois on Feb. 9. Each of her matches took place at the Wichita Country Club in Wichita.
WSU's dual-match against No. 55 Fresno State came down to the Blasco Fernandez/Tanya Murtagh singles matchup in a winner take-all finale. She waited two hours to play her match against Murtagh due to the court configuration, but won 6-3, 6-1 against Murtagh to give the Shockers the 4-3 dual-match victory.
Against No. 42 Illinois, Blasco Fernandez/Pedrazzi defeated Allison Falkin/Jerricka Boone 6-3. It would again set her up to win the dual-match for the Shockers in the deciding match. She won 6-1, 6-3 against Julia Jamieson.
Opponent Outlook
No. 74 Missouri is 2-4 on the year while currently on a four dual-match losing streak. They own wins against St. Louis and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, but lost against No. 66 Harvard, No. 63 Louisville, No. 45 North Carolina State and No. 61 Wake Forest.
The Tigers feature Kelli Hine who is No. 10 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Central Singles Rankings. She currently has a 3-3 singles record, but is just 1-3 in doubles play.
This is the second time in as many seasons that the Shockers played the Tigers in dual-match action. No. 74 Missouri, who was ranked 59th going into their match with the Shockers last season, won 6-1 at the Green Tennis Center in Columbia, Mo.
UT-Arlington is 4-2 so far, while winning four out of their last five matches. They defeated Midwestern State, won against Dallas Baptist and Stephen F. Austin in a double-header, and beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Mavericks have losses against No. 40 TCU and McNeese State. UT-Arlington will play No. 70 Kansas on Sunday in Lawrence, Kan. at 11 a.m. before playing the Shockers on Monday.
Shockers Become Ranked for First Time During 2013-2014 Season
The Shockers made their first ITA National Rankings appearance of the 2013-2014 season at No. 62 after defeating No. 66 Fresno State and No. 43 Illinois each by a 4-3 score. Wichita State came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Bulldogs while staging a comeback from down 3-2 to take down the Fighting Illini.
The highest ranking the Shockers achieved last season was 61st. They look to crack the top-60 for the first time since the 2011-2012 season when they take on No. 74 Missouri on Sunday and UT-Arlington on Monday.
Coach Foster's Match Outlook
Shocker women's head coach Colin Foster is excited about how the team has prepared this week.
“We've had a great week of preparation," Foster said. "Missouri beat us handily at their place last year; they're off to a slow start this year but we know they've got a talented group and will be gunning for us. We need to continue to put ourselves in favorable positions, trust our execution, and work hard from start to finish and we'll give ourselves a chance to be successful.
"We're excited to make this our featured match of the non-conference season and appreciate the Wichita Country Club for hosting and allowing us to promote this match. We're looking forward to a great home crowd – pizza will be served around 11:30 and all fans in attendance will have the opportunity to win Shocker basketball and baseball tickets."
Although No. 74 Missouri is coming to Wichita on Sunday, Foster also believes UT-Arlington will be tough on Monday.
"Texas-Arlington is another team we are familiar with," Foster said. "We're focused on Missouri at the moment but know UTA will present us with another challenge on Monday morning.”
Live Stats
Live stats will be available on GoShockers.com before and during each match. The results of each match will be posted on GoShockers.com following their completion of play.
-WICHITA STATE-
