WICHITA, Kan. – No. 33 Wichita State returns home on Friday, March 23 at 9 a.m. for a match with Iowa at the Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex.
 
MATCH INFORMATION WITH IOWA
Head-to-head record- Tied 4-4
Under Colin Foster- (0-2)
Away- (2-1)
Neutral - (2-3)
Last Meeting- Apr. 10, 2017 –Iowa defeated Wichita State 4-3 in Iowa City, Iowa.
 
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=207366
Location: Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex
Time: 9 a.m.
Records: Wichita State 13-5, Iowa 9-6
 
SCOUTING IOWA
The Hawkeyes come into the match sporting a 9-6 record. They have wins over Creighton, Northern Iowa, Montana, SMU, Marquette, Bradley, Notre Dame, Iowa State and Michigan State. They have losses against Washington State, North Texas, Illinois, Northwestern, Penn State and Michigan. Pacing the Hawkeyes with a 12-2 record is Yufei Long and Elise van Heuvelen with an 11-4 record. The Iowa duo of van Heuvelen and Anastasia Reimchen are 5-0 on the season, and rank 47th in the latest ITA/Oracle Doubles Rankings.
 
POWER SCHEDULE
In the ITA/Oracle Team Rankings that came out March 20, eight of the 18 opponents the Shockers have faced this season are in the top-50. Wichita State has a 3-5 record against the six, with wins over FIU (now No. 43), (RV) Arkansas (now No. 46), and Old Dominion (now No. 44). Their six losses were against No. 8 Texas Tech, North Carolina State (now No. 42), Nebraska (now No. 38), Kansas, (now No. 17), and Tulsa (now No. 23). Mizzou was ranked No. 49 when the Shockers beat them, before dropping out of the top-50. The remaining schedule for the Shockers fares to be a good one. Out of the five remaining opponents on the schedule, four are ranked in the top-50. (Oklahoma State (12), Kansas State (31), UCF (25), and Oklahoma (49).
 
FUN BITS

• The last time WSU took down a top-20 opponent was on March 5, 2016. The Shockers, then ranked No. 13, rolled over No. 18 Tulsa, 5-2 in Tulsa.
   
• Ninth-year head coach Colin Foster is just one win away from his 170th win with the Shockers, and ten away from moving to the top of the leaderboard in career wins at Wichita State. Les Stafford sets at 178, with Foster at 169.

LAST TIME OUT
The Shockers fell to No. 32 ranked Tulsa, 7-0, on Saturday, Mar. 17 in Tulsa.
 
YET AGAIN
The Shockers make an appearance in ITA National Team Rankings for the 12th-straight season.
Feb. 20 Poll - No. 30 - The Shockers were last ranked inside the top-30 for 11-straight weeks in the 2015-16 season. Prior to that, the Shockers were only ranked four times inside the top-30 since the 2006-07 season.
Feb. 27 Poll - No. 21 - it is the first time the Shockers have been inside the top-25 since Mar. 2016 when they reached No. 20.
March 6 Poll - No. 23 - Wichita State comes in at No. 23, sporting an 11-4 record.
March 13 Poll - No. 27 - came into the week with a 13-4 record and winners of two-straight
March 20 Poll - No. 33 - The Shockers make the poll for the fifth-straight week with a 13-5 record
 
SHOCKER SUMMARY
Wichita State is 13-5 to start the 2018 campaign, with losses to No. 8 Texas Tech (4-0), NC State (4-3) Nebraska (4-3), No. 20 Kansas (4-3) and No. 32 Tulsa (7-0).  The Shockers have picked up victories over Stephen F. Austin (7-0), SMU (5-2), FIU (4-2), UT-Arlington (4-0), UMKC (4-0), (RV)Arkansas (4-1) , Old Dominion (4-2) Wyoming (4-0), No. 49 Mizzou(4-3), Colorado (7-0) , Gonzaga (4-3), Hawaii (6-1) and North Texas (4-2). The Shockers are led by sophomore Fatima Bizhukova (8-4) and junior Sandra Honigova (13-3). Sophomore Marta Bellucco is 8-4, and senior Gabriela Porubin is 9-6 in dual action in both third and fourth flights. Senior Giulia Guidetti, is 11-5 in singles, and 9-3 in doubles action with Ting-Ya Hsu. The Shockers are 59-32 collectively in singles play.
 
AMERICAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Wichita State's Fatima Bizhukova was named the American Conference Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 28 and most recently for the week ending March 11.  The award was the first ever for the Shockers in the American conference (women's tennis). Sandra Honigova has been named American Conference Player of the Week twice this season. (Feb. 4., Feb. 26)

SOPHOMORE SHINE
Shocker sophomore Fatima Bizhukova ranks 68th in the latest ITA/Oracle Singles Rankings released Mar. 20. Bizhukova is 15-9 on the season, and 8-4 in dual action. She has three wins over ranked opponents, including a win over No. 43 Maria Kononova of North Texas in straight sets. The Singles Rankings come out every two weeks and Bizhukova was ranked No. 84 in Mar. 6 poll, 71st in Feb. 20 poll, and 73rd in Feb. 7th poll.
 
NEW CONFERENCE, SAME GOALS
The Shockers join the American Athletic Conference after a successful tenure in the Missouri Valley Conference. Conference opponents are played during the season, however; they do not count as conference games. The conference action begins at the SMU Tennis Complex, Apr. 18-21 at The American Championship in Dallas. Ninth-year head coach Colin Foster has the same goals in The American as he did in the Missouri Valley, where he never lost a conference match in eight seasons (78-0) including conference tournaments.
 
QUOTABLE
 Head Coach Colin Foster on move from Missouri Valley to American Athletic conference and playing in American Championship:
"Our goal is to win every match. That goal doesn't change from the Missouri Valley to the American. We know that the competition is tougher and the challenge is going to be bigger. That doesn't change our goals. If we would have lost a match in the Missouri Valley, then so be it. If we lose a match in the American Tournament….that's part of sports. We're certainly excited and confident that we can go in there and play with any team in this league. "
 
UPSET ALERT
Sophomore Fatima Bizhukova knocked off No. 3 Andrea Lazaro of FIU in straight sets (6-1, 6-2) leading the Shockers past FIU in the opening round of ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Lubbock, Jan. 26. The sophomore from Russia had No. 5 Gabriela Talaba of Texas Tech on the ropes the following day, leading 6-2, 5-2 before the match went unfinished.

FALL BALL
Bizhukova, who ranked No. 102 in Preseason Rankings, led all singles players in the fall, compiling a 7-5 record in tournament play.  Bizhukova had two top-100 victories to her name. Bizhukova felt that she had areas to improve from her fall season,  "My fall season was not very good, I was thinking too much about the ranking. I was trying to win all my matches. But now, I feel that you have to win, but if you enjoy it you will win for sure."

Sophomore Marta Bellucco went 6-3 in the fall season, and and Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva finished 5-3.
In doubles, Senior Gabriela Porubin and Bizhukova, who ranked No. 16 in Fall Rankings, went 7-3 with wins over two top-50 tandems.
 
RETURNERS
Seniors Giulia Guidetti and Gabriela Porubin lead a group of five returners from a season ago.  The senior tandem is in the top-20 for singles wins in school history. (Guidetti, 79. Porubin, 77). Along with Bizhukova, sophomores Bellucco and Ting-Ya Hsu are among the returners. Junior Sandra Honigova returns to the court after sitting out last season. (transferred from FIU in 2015-16).
 
NEW FACES
The Shockers welcomed two newcomers to the 2017-18 squad. Sophomore Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva comes to WSU from Uzbekistan, where she began play for the Shockers in the fall. Saidhujaeva went 5-3 in fall play, and is 7-7 in dual play, with matches in third, fifth and sixth flight.  Freshman Alexandra Lazarova joined the Shockers in the fall, and compiled a 6-6 record in tournament action. Lazarova, from Slovakia, is 3-3 in dual matches all in the sixth flight.
 
NEXT STOP:
Two Big 12 school are next on the schedule for WSU, as they travel to Stillwater, Okla. to take on No. 12 Oklahoma State Friday, Mar. 30 followed by No. 49 Oklahoma on Sunday, April 1 in Norman.