WICHITA, Kan. -- The Wichita State women's tennis team opens its 2018 spring season with a trip to Dallas, Texas. The Shockers will first face Stephen F. Austin at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 19 and return to the courts at 12 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20 to take on American conference opponent, SMU. Both matches will be played at the SMU Tennis Complex.
 
Matchup
 
This will be the second meeting in school history with Stephen F. Austin. WSU leads the series 1-0, with the last meeting in 2013 in Austin, Texas; under current head coach Colin Foster.  The Shockers and Mustangs hit the court for just the seventh time, with WSU holding a 4-2 advantage. The two last met a season ago, where the Shockers defeated No. 43 SMU in Dallas, 5-2.
 
The Shockers are coming off an 18-9, (7-0 MVC) record in 2017. The Shockers make the move to the American Athletic Conference, after a successful ride in the Missouri Valley Conference, including winning nine-straight Missouri Valley Conference titles.
 
Returners:
2017 MVC Player of the Year Giulia Guidetti headlines five returners for the Shockers, who lose only one letterwinner from a season ago.  The senior from Italy compiled 24 singles victories last season, primarily in the No. 1 slot.  Guidetti was named to All-MVC team four times in her career, and holds the school record for singles wins in a season (39) and most wins in a two-year span (63).
 
Five-time All-MVC senior Gabriela Porubin went 25-12 in singles in 2017, and ranked as high as No. 74 in ITA Rankings. She went 21-7 with freshman Fatima Bizhukova in doubles play, and 7-0 in MVC matches.  Porubin has a .743 win percentage in doubles over her career (81-28), good for sixth all-time. Porubin and Bizhukova rank No. 23 in ITA Rankings (Nov. 15).
 
WSU also returns sophomores Fatima Bizhukova, Ting-Ya Hsu and Marta Bellucco. Junior Sandra Honigova returns for the Shockers in 2018. The Shockers add newcomers Alexandra Lazarova from Roznava, Slovakia and Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva from Fergana, Uzbekistan.
 
Head coach Colin Foster, who is in his ninth season at WSU (156-61, .719) leads the Shockers. 
 
Scouting the Opponent
 
Stephen F. Austin
The Lumberjacks return four letterwinners from 2017, including Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year Kaja Ljubic and sophomores Gabi Guilarte, Siân Payne and Darinka Tiboldi. Jon McLaughlin is the head coach for Stephen F. Austin, who finished 8-14 (4-7 Southland) in 2017. The dual against WSU will be the first of the spring season for the Lumberjacks.
 
SMU
2016-17 All-American Conference player Liza Buss leads the Mustangs, who return four letterwinners for SMU. Charline Anselmo, Sarai Monarrez Yesaki and Ana Perez-Lopez are among the returners.  The Mustangs are led by seventh-year head coach Kati Gyulai. SMU advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2017 NCAA tournament and finished with a 17-7 overall record and 3-0 in American conference play. The dual will be the first of the spring season for the Mustangs.
 
Schedule:
Friday, Jan. 19
9 a.m. - Wichita State vs. Stephen F. Austin (SMU Tennis Complex)

Saturday, Jan. 20
12 p.m. – Wichita State @ SMU (SMU Tennis Complex)

Next up for the Shockers
WSU will head to Lubbock, Texas, for the ITA Kickoff on Friday, Jan. 26 and Saturday Jan. 27. The Shockers will take on FIU in their first match Friday.