Results | Championship Central

DALLAS -  No. 3 seed Wichita State (17-7) took down No. 6 seed Houston (20-4), 4-2,  in Thursday's American Athletic Conference Championship Quarterfinals to advance to Friday's semifinals.
 
The Shockers will face No. 2 seed Tulsa in semifinal action, beginning at 3 p.m. at the SMU Tennis Complex. The two met earlier this season, with Tulsa gaining the win, 7-0 in Tulsa.
 
HEAD COACH COLIN FOSTER
"Houston played a great match today. They are really strong at the top two spots, they've showed that all year and we have been struggling at five and six lately. Neither of those are secrets, and those are the four points that I think on paper were going to be where Houston can beat us, and they almost did. Really proud of us for having resilience and fight to accept that pressure and deal with it, fight through and find a way to win. Our last match against Tulsa we really didn't play to the standard and the level and the type of tennis we know we can play. I'm excited to see, and I'm expecting that we will bring all those things tomorrow. The better team tomorrow will come out on top. We're excited to be through, and for tomorrow."
 
DOUBLES
Gabriela Porubin and Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva got the first win of the day in flight three, where they took down the Houston duo of Ana Glumac and Constandena Nicolaou, 6-3. Guidetti and Hsu battled Lauren Alter and Ali Mills, who came into the match with a 13-3 record. The Shocker tandem trailed early before pulling out a 6-4 win on court two. No. 67 ranked Fatima Bizhukova and Marta Bellucco faced off against Houstons top duo,Tsveta Dimitrova and Sveva Mazzari. Bizhukova and Bellucco led 5-4 before going unfinished.
 
SINGLES
Porubin went up against Ali Mills on court four for the Shockers. After rolling through the first set, 6-2, Porubin pulled out a 6-4 victory in the second set to give the Shockers an early 2-0 advantage.
 
Houston grabbed two straight wins on courts one and two to tie the match. Sveva Mazzari, who came into the match with an 18-1 record, dropped Honigova (6-1, 6-4).  No. 116 ranked Dimitrova took down 60^th ranked Bizhukova in the top flight, 6-2, 7-5 for the Cougars.
 
Guidetti answered on court three for the Shockers, to extend the lead to 3-2. Guidetti and Alter traded sets (6-2, 4-6) before the senior from Italy rolled in the third set (6-1) to give WSU the advantage.
 
Bellucco and Nicolaou battled it out on court five with the Shockers leading 3-2. Bellucco fell short in the first set (6-2), but rallied to win the second, 7-5. In the third set, Bellucco won in dominating fashion, (6-1) to clinch the match 4-2 for the Shockers.
 
On court six, Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva took on Ana Glumac on court six. The two split the first two sets (2-6, 6-3) and Saidhujaeva led 6-5 in the third before going unfinished.
 

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Wichita State 4, Houston 2
 
Singles Competition
1. #116 Tsveta Dimitrova (UH) def. #60 Fatima Bizhukova (WSU), 6-2, 7-5
2. Sveva Mazzari (UH) def. Sandra Honigova (WSU), 6-1, 6-4
3. Giulia Guidetti (WSU) def. Lauren Alter (UH), 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
4. Gabriela Porubin (WSU) def. Ali Mills (UH), 6-2, 6-4
5. Marta Bellucco (WSU) def. Constandena Nicolaou (UH), 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
6. Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva (WSU) vs. Ana Glumac (UH), 3-6, 6-3, 6-5 uf
 
Doubles Competition
1. #67 Fatima Bizhukova/Marta Bellucco (WSU) vs. Tsveta Dimitrova/Ali Mills (UH), 5-4 uf
2. Ting-Ya Hsu/Giulia Guidetti (WSU) def. Lauren Alter/Ali Mills (UH), 6-4
3. Gabriela Porubin/Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva (WSU) def. Ana Glumac/Constandena Nicolaou (UH), 6-3
 
Match Notes:
Wichita State (17-7)
Houston (20-4)
Order of Finish: Singles- 4, 2, 1, 3, 5
Doubles- 3, 2