WICHITA, Kan. -- The Wichita State men's tennis team will be on the road to begin MVC play this weekend, starting with Illinois State at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 31 in Normal, Ill., and then Southern Illinois at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 1, in Carbondale, Ill.
The Shockers (10-9) split a doubleheader last Saturday in Wichita, losing a tight battle against UT Arlington 3-4 before rebounding to beat No. 4-ranked (in JuCo) Seward County CC 5-2.
Haru Inoue, who did not play in either match due to illness, is currently ranked No. 79 in the singles rankings and is the only ranked Shocker. Inoue and
Eddie Stoica currently lead the team in singles wins with 19. Newcomers
Marius Frosa and
Murkel Dellien are 7-2 over their last nine matches. Frosa played in the top flight of last Saturday's matches in place of Inoue and
Miroslav Herzan, winning both, which included a 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 5 Carlos Anez from Seward.
Illinois State (6-12) is currently on a three-match skid. The Redbirds have no ranked players, but have four players with at least ten wins this year, led by Andreas Boers (16-12, 9-6 in duals). Friday's match will also be the first Valley contest for the Redbirds, who went 1-2 in conference play last season. ILS has had some success at the Gregory Street Tennis Courts, as they are 2-2 in home contests so far.
Southern Illinois have won seven-straight and tout an impressive 14-2 record coming into Saturday's match, but is unranked. The Salukis are led by No. 86 Piotr Baranski (22-1, 12-0 in duals), who has won 12 consecutive singles matches. In doubles, Baranski and Alex Pozo (14-1, 11-0 in duals) are ranked No. 59 and are riding an 11-match winning streak. SIU's two losses this year have come to Tennessee (lost 1-6) and Iowa (lost 3-4).
Last year, WSU defeated Illinois State 4-1 in the regular season, and 4-0 in the MVC Tournament semifinals. The Shockers topped the Salukis 4-2 in the regular season finale.
Looking Ahead:
The Shockers return home for a doubleheader on Sun., April 9 at the Coleman Tennis Complex. WSU plays Denver at 11:30 a.m., and then Washburn at 3 p.m.
