WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State (12-4) travels to Rancho Mirage, Calif. to take on the Mean Green of North Texas tomorrow at 12 p.m at the Sunrise Country Club.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Shockers took on Hawaii for just the second time ever on Wednesday, and came out on the winning side with a 6-1 victory over the Rainbow Wahine. Gabriela Porubin and Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva collected a win in the third flight of doubles, along with Fatima Bizhukova and Marta Bellucco in the first flight. Wichita State rolled in singles action, with wins in flight one through five. Hawaii scored their only point in the sixth flight, where Roxanne Resma took down Alexandra Lazarova.

POWER SCHEDULE
In the ITA/Oracle Team Rankings that came out Mar. 6, seven of the 15 opponents the Shockers have faced this season are in the top-50. Wichita State has a 3-4 record against the six, with wins over FIU (now No. 43), (RV) Arkansas (now No. 32), and Old Dominion (now No. 39). The three losses were against No. 8 Texas Tech, North Carolina State (now No. 39), and Nebraska (now No. 29). 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 nine remaining opponents on the schedule, five are ranked in the top-50. (Oklahoma State (20, Kansas State (31), UCF (25), Tulsa (26))
 
ON NORTH TEXAS
The Mean Green come into Saturday compiling a 4-8 record. Their wins came by way of USF, Louisiana Tech, Iowa, and Marshall. North Texas is led by Tamuna Kutubidze (5-2) and Maria Kononova (5-4) in singles action. Alexandra Heczey and Kutubidze lead the way in doubles with a 3-1 record.
 
 FUN BITS
 - The last time WSU took down a top-20 opponent was on Mar. 5, 2016. The Shockers, then ranked No.  13, rolled over No. 18 Tulsa, 5-2 in Tulsa.
 - The Shockers and Mean Green meet for the 16th time, with Wichita State holding an 11-5 advantage. Head Coach Colin Foster is 4-1 against North Texas with the Shockers.
 
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.
Mar. 6 Poll- No. 23- Wichita State comes in at No. 23, sporting an 11-4 record.
 
SHOCKER SUMMARY
Wichita State is 12-4 to start the 2018 campaign, with losses to No. 8 Texas Tech (4-0), NC State (4-3) Nebraska (4-3), and No. 20 Kansas (4-3). 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) and Hawaii (6-1). The Shockers are led by sophomore Fatima Bizhukova (7-3) and junior Sandra Honigova (12-2). Sophomore Marta Bellucco is 7-3 in third, fourth and fifth flight, and senior Gabriela Porubin is 9-4 in dual action in both third and fourth flights. Senior Giulia Guidetti, is 10-4 in singles, while Guidetti and sophomore Ting-Ya Hsu are 9-1 in doubles action in the second and third flight. The Shockers are 55-25 collectively in singles dual 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. 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)
 
ONE TWO PUNCH
Two Shockers are ranked in the Mar. 6 ITA/Oracle Singles Rankings . Bizhukova, who is 7-3 in the first flight (13-8 overall) ranks No. 84 for the Shockers. Junior Sandra Honigova joins her at No. 102 after starting the season 12-2. Honigova has victories over No. 61 Claudia Wiktorin of NC State in Wichita State's home opener Feb. 2, No. 67 Ana Oparenovic Feb. 10 at Arkansas, and No. 109 Linda Huang of Colorado Feb. 25.
 
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 7-6 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:
Wichita State continues their road slate with a trip to American Athletic Conference foe, Tulsa, for a 'Havoc in the Heartland' matchup on Saturday, Mar. 17 in Tulsa.