COLLEGE STATION, Texas – An upset bid from the No. 37 Wichita State women's tennis team came up just short at No. 10 Texas A&M, Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
 
The host Aggies rallied to win the final two singles matches on courts four and five to escape with a 4-3 victory, denying the Shockers a signature victory and a trip to the ITA National Indoor Team Championship.
 
WSU (4-1) dropped to 2-1 against nationally-ranked foes. On Saturday, they defeated No. 61 Minnesota to move into the finals of their four-team ITA Kickoff Weekend pod.
 
If last Sunday's win at No. 35 Oklahoma was a big one, a victory at Texas A&M (2-0) would have been monumental. Last year's SEC runner-up, fresh off a Sweet 16 trip, boasted a lineup with nationally-ranked singles players
 
"We did well to play with belief from start to finish," WSU head coach, Colin Foster said. "In the doubles we capitalized on opportunities that we were missing yesterday, and in singles we gave it everything we had."
 
The Shockers struck first with doubles wins from Giulia Guidetti and Luca Pump (7-5) on court no. 3 and Gabriela Porubin and Julia Schiller (7-6) on court no. 1.
 
The early doubles point would prove crucial, as Texas A&M won each of the first two singles matches to completion. Rutuja Bhosale (ITA No. 106) knocked off Rebecca Pedrazzi at no. 3 and Schiller fell to Saska Gavrilovska (ITA No. 53) on the second court to put the hosts up 2-1.
 
WSU wouldn't stay down for long. Minutes later, Porubin (ITA No. 71) finished out a straight-set win over Rachel Pierson (ITA No. 58) to even the dual at 2-each, and Giulia Guidetti followed with a 7-5. 6-1 triumph on court no. 6 to put the Shockers back in front, 3-2.
 
Stevens' one-set lead vanished on court no. 5, when Domenica Gonzalez rallied to take the second set, 6-1, but WSU got another lift when Trifunovic (No. 4 singles) escaped a one-set deficit of her own. Knotted at 3-3, Trifunofic broke serve twice in the last three games to even her match a set apiece.
 
Both Stevens and Trifunovic opened crucial third-sets at roughly the same time, with WSU needing a win in either to close out the dual.
 
Stevens fell behind 2-0 and 5-1 before reeling off three-straight. She had a pair of break points that could have evened the set at 5-5 but couldn't finish.  Instead, Gonzalez picked up back-to-back points to claim the match, pinning WSU's hopes squarely on Trifunovic.
 
Trifunovic and Paalma traded blows, each holding serve through the first two cycles. That trend completely reversed itself in the fifth through eighth games, with Paalma twice breaking serve and Trifunovic stealing two of her own in clutch fashion to keep pace.
 
No-ad scoring rules added an extra layer of tension to the latter part of the set, with three-consecutive games coming down to essentially a sudden-death point at 40-all.
 
Tied 4-4, Trifunovic won a deciding point to hold serve and take a 5-4 lead. Paalma won another do-or-die point in the following game to stave off defeat, then wrestled control by taking yet another toss-up point to go up 6-5.
 
Needing to break serve to force a tiebreaker for the match, Trifunovic came up short, and Texas A&M survived.
 
"Gaby and Giulia played such consistent, determined, tennis," Foster said. "A&M rose to the occasion on the other courts. Aleks fought back from down a set and created a match point for herself in the third, but Paalma earned that point and the rest of the match.
 
"I'm really proud of the effort. Of course, we're disappointed in the end result, but it was a memorable match and an experience that will only benefit us down the road"
 
WSU won't have to wait long for its next big challenge. The Shockers continue a their non-conference schedule at No. 11 Oklahoma State on Saturday (Jan. 30, 1 p.m. CT).
 

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#10 Texas A&M 4, #37 Wichita State 3
ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Championship Match
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
January 24, 2016

Singles
1.     #71 Gabriela Porubin (WSU) def. # 56 Rachel Pierson (A&M), 6-4, 6-1
2.     #53 Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) def. Julia Schiller (WSU), 6-3, 6-2
3.     #106 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Rebecca Pedrazzi (WSU), 6-0, 6-3
4.     Eva Paalma (A&M) def. Aleksandra Trifunovic (WSU), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
5.     Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) def. Abby Stevens (WSU), 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
6.     Giulia Guidetti (WSU) def. Anna Mamalat (A&M), 7-5, 6-1

Doubles (WSU wins the point)
1.     Porubin/Schiller (WSU) def. Paalma/Pierson (A&M), 7-6 (5)
2.     Bhosale/Mamalat (A&M) vs. Pedrazzi/Trifunovic (WSU), 5-6 unfinished
3.     Guidetti/Luca Pump (WSU) def. Deheza/Gavrilovska (A&M), 7-5

Order of finish
Doubles:  3, 1
Singles: 2, 3, 1, 6, 5, 4

Team records
Texas A&M: 2-0
Wichita State: 4-1