Box Score DALLAS - The Wichita State women's tennis team picked up its first ranked win of the season, defeating No. 43 SMU by a score of 5-2 on Friday night at the SMU Tennis Complex.

WSU took the doubles point, starting with Gabriela Porubin and Fatima Bizhukova winning 6-1 over Liza Buss and Dasha Sharapova in the top flight. The Shocker duo is now 8-4 in top flight matches. Tanaporn Thongsing and Ting-Ya Hsu followed up with a 6-4 victory over Ana Perez-Lopez and Sarai Yesaki in the second flight. Giulia Guidetti and Marta Bellucco were deadlocked at 5-5 with Mary Wright and Macie Elliott before going unfinished.

In singles play, Bellucco started off strong for Wichita State, winning 6-1, 6-1 in the sixth flight. The victory snapped a five-match skid for Bellucco. Hsu followed up with a 6-3, 6-1 win in the fifth flight. The Mustangs won the next two matches in the top two flights, with Buss beating No. 117 Guidetti 6-3, 6-1 and Yesaki topping Porubin 6-2, 6-4. Thongsing clinched the win - and notched her team-best 21st singles win - with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Perez-Lopez in the third flight. Bizhukova defeated Sharapova 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the fourth flight to finish out the scoring.

"That was a complete team win," said head coach Colin Foster. "Great contributions across the board. For Ting-Ya and Marta, who have struggled a bit lately, they put those struggles behind them and controlled their matches with conviction and confidence from start to finish. It was very impressive, and shows a great deal of resolve and maturity on their end."

Wichita State now improves to 6-7 on the season, while SMU drops to 10-3.

Up Next
Wichita State will stay in Texas, as they will face North Texas on Sun., March 12 in Denton at 11 a.m. at the Waranch Tennis Complex.

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Wichita State 5, #43 SMU 2

Singles competition
1. Liza Buss (SMU) def. #117 Giulia Guidetti (WSU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Sarai MonarrezYesaki (SMU) def. Gabriela Porubin (WSU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Tanaporn Thongsing (WSU) def. Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
4. Fatima Bizhukova (WSU) def. Dasha Sharapova (SMU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
5. Ting-Ya Hsu (WSU) def. Ellie Zogg (SMU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Marta Bellucco (WSU) def. Macie Elliott (SMU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Gabriela Porubin/Fatima Bizhukova (WSU) def. Liza Buss/Dasha Sharapova (SMU) 6-1
2. Tanaporn Thongsing/Ting-Ya Hsu (WSU) def. Sarai MonarrezYesaki/Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) 6-4
3. Mary Wright/Macie Elliott (SMU) vs. Giulia Guidetti/Marta Bellucco (WSU) 5-5, unfinished

Match Notes:
Wichita State 6-7
SMU 10-3; National ranking #43
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,5,2,1,3,4)