WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita State women's tennis team closes out the regular season at home this Friday and Saturday, with matches against Tulsa and Saint Louis at Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex.
 
The Shockers (11-9) will take on American Athletic Conference foe Tulsa at 12 p.m. Friday, followed by a 3 p.m. match time with Saint Louis Saturday for Senior Day.
 
ABOUT THE SENIORS
 
Sandra Honigova | Sr. | Brno, Czech Republic
 
-Career Singles Record- 34-14
-Career Doubles Record- 10-10
 
Awards
-2018 All-Conference (American Athletic Conference)
-Two-time American Athletic Conference Player of the Week (2018, Feb. 4, 26)
-NCAA Team Championship Qualifier (2018)
 
Accomplishments
-Reached as high as No. 102 in ITA/Oracle Singles Rankings
-Went 16-5 in dual action in 2017-18 season, mainly in second flight
- Five ranked singles win in her career (No. 61 Claudia Wiktorin, No. 67 Ana Oparenovic, No. 90 Liza Buss, No. 109 Bianca Mok, No. 109 Linda Huang)
- Earned a straight set win over Sofya Golubovskaya of Syracuse in first round of
 
Fatima Bizhukova | Sr. | Balashiha, Russia
 
-Career Singles Record- 44-26
-Career Doubles Record- 53-28
 
Awards
-Two-time All-MVC (2017, singles and doubles)
-MVC Regular Season Champion (Team) - 2017
-MVC Tournament Champion (Team) - 2017
-Two-time NCAA Tournament Qualifier (Team) – 2017, 2018
-NCAA Singles Qualifier - 2018
-2018 All-Conference (American Athletic Conference)
-Two-time AAC Player of the Week – (2018, Jan. 28, March 11)
 
Accomplishments
-5-1 record at NCAA Team Championships (3-1 singles, 2-0 doubles)
-Ranked as high as No. 55 in ITA/Oracle Singles Rankings (highest ranking since 2009-10)
-Knocked off No. 3 Andrea Lazaro of FIU at 2018 ITA Kick-Off Weekend for one of biggest wins in Shocker history
-Defeated No. 5 Gabriela Knutson of Syracuse at NCAA First and Second Rounds in Oxford, Miss.
-Record her third top-10 victory of her career on March 11 over No. 7 Sophie Whittle of Gonzaga
- Started 2018-19 season ranked No. 14 in doubles with Marta Bellucco, marking the highest ranking since 1999-2000
-Reached doubles semifinal of ITA All-American Championships, becoming first duo in Shocker history to accomplish the feat.
- Knocked off three top-30 doubles duo on their way to semifinal
 
50 YEAR'S IN WOMEN'S SPORTS
In celebration of 50 Year's in Women's sports at Wichita State, the Wichita State women's tennis team will be holding an alumni celebration on April 12 and 13. At the conclusion of Friday's match with Tulsa, dinner will be provided inside the Champions Club at Charles Koch Arena. On Saturday, the group will head to Chicken N' Pickle at the conclusion of the 3 p.m. Saint Louis match for dinner and entertainment. To sign up, visit goshockers.com/wten50.
 

LAST TIME OUT
The Shockers and met up with No. 31-ranked Oklahoma on April 6, in what was battle until the end. OU jumped out to a 3-1 lead after clinching the doubles point and grabbing wins on courts two and four. WSU rallied to tie the match at three after Ting-Ya Hsu moved to 4-1 in the sixth flight and Alexandra Lazarova took a straight set win on court five. In a three-set clincher on court one, Bizhukova fell to No. 23 Korashvili to give the Sooners the 4-3 win.

BIZHUKOVA IN THE RANKINGS
Bizhukova, a senior from Balashiha, Russia, ranks No. 111 in the latest ITA/Oracle Singles Rankings (April 9) and holds a 3-1 record in the top slot. She compiled her third top-10 singles win of her career on March 11, dropping No. 7 Sophie Whittle of Gonzaga in straight sets (6-2, 6-3). The junior went on to knock off No. 77 Tamuna Kutubidze of North Texas (6-1, 6-2) on March 23.
 
Bizhukova knocked off FIU's Andrea Lazaro, who ranked No. 3 in ITA/Oracle Singles Rankings, last season at ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Lubbock. The 2018 All-AAC selection followed with a 6-1, 6-3 win over No. 5 Gabriela Knutson of Syracuse in the First Round of the NCAA Team Championships in Oxford, Miss.
 
CATCHING UP WITH THE SHOCKERS
The Shockers (11-9) have wins over two ranked opponents this season – No. 39 SMU (4-3) and No. 39 Gonzaga (6-1). The Shockers' other wins are over Louisville (4-1), Nebraska (4-1), Creighton (4-0), Middle Tennessee State (4-1), UT-Arlington (5-1), Cincinnati (4-2), North Texas (4-2), UMKC (4-0) and Drake (7-0).  Five of their losses have come to ranked opponents – No. 11 Kansas, No. 37 Kansas State, No. 8 Oklahoma State, No. 28 UCF, and No. 31 Oklahoma.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Sandra Honigova – holds a 9-6 record, mainly in the top slot. The senior has won five of her last eight matches she has finished. Has a ranked win over No. 90 Liza Buss of SMU in flight No. 1.
 
Esther Thebault- sports a 9-7 record primarily in the second and third spot. Knocked off Vivienne Kulicke of SMU, who ranked No. 117. Holds a 9-5 doubles record with Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva in the first and second slot.
 
Fatima Bizhukova – ranks No. 111 in singles play, with a 3-1record in dual action. Two of her wins are over ranked opponents - No. 7-ranked Sophie Whittle of Gonzaga and No. 77 Tamuna Kutubidze of North Texas. Ranks No. 30 in doubles with Marta Bellucco.
 
LingWei Kong – is 4-8 in flights two through five. Her and Ting-Ya Hsu are 9-4 in the doubles third slot.
 
Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva – 7-6 in dual singles action (3-1 in flight five). Her and Thebault sport a 9-5 doubles record.
 
Ting-Ya Hsu – is 4-1 in the sixth spot and 5-6  overall. Clinched the 4-2 victory for the Shockers over Cincinnati. Holds a 9-4 doubles record with Kong.
 
SHOCKERS JOIN TEAM RANKINGS FOR 13th STRAIGHT SEASON
For the 13^th season in a row, the Wichita State women's tennis team entered the ITA/Oracle Team Rankings on Feb. 26, coming in at No. 36. Colin Foster, in his 10^th season as the head coach, has guided his teams to a Team Ranking in every year at the helm, peaking at No. 13 in the 2015-16 season
 
2019 Polls
Feb. 26 – No. 36
March 5 – No. 40
March 19 – No. 44
 
ON THE GOLDEN HURRICANE
ITA Ranking: NR


The Golden Hurricane sport a 14-8 record and winners of three-straight coming in to Friday's match. Tulsa boasts wins over Lousiana Tech, Oral Roberts, Wyoming, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Oral Roberts, Central Arkansas, Arkansas, Montana, Montana State, Purdue, Bradley, North Texas, SMU, and Temple.
 
Martha Matoula leads the Golden Hurricane in singles action, sporting a 16-2 singles record. Martina Okalova, who ranks No. 80 in singles, is 9-7 in the top slot with three nationally ranked wns. Vera Ploner is 13-5 mainly in the third slot.
 
In doubles, Okalova and Ploner are ranked No. 13 and hold a 13-3 in dual action, and 25-5 overall.
 
WSU leads the all-time series, 23-16. The teams met twice last season, with the Golden Hurricane coming out on the winning end in both matches – in Tulsa, and in the semifinal of the American Athletic Conference tournament.  
 
ON THE BILLIKENS
Saint Louis holds a 6-9 record with wins over Southeast Missouri State, Illinois-Springfield, Quincy, Saint Joseph's, Dayton and McKendree.
 
Mika Misgav leads the Billikens with a 6-4 record in flights four through six. The Shockers lead the all-time series, 5-1 with WSU taking the last meeting on Jan. 15, 2016, 6-1.



RETURNERS
WSU returns six players from last season's 18-9 squad, who reached the Second Round of the NCAA Team Championships in Oxford, Miss. Sandra Honigova, who went 16-5 in dual play last season, leads the charge for WSU. The senior competed mostly in flights two and three last season. Fatima Bizhukova, was 12-8 in the top flight, with five wins over ranked opponents. The senior knocked off the No. 3 and 5 singles players during the season. Bellucco was 9-11, Lazarova 4-4 and Saidhujaeva 7-11. In doubles, Bizhukova and Bellucco, who ranked as high as No. 64, were 10-4 in the top flight. The duo had four ranked wins, including a win over the No. 5 and 8 ranked doubles duo at the NCAA Team Championships.
 
NEW FACES
The Shockers welcomed two newcomers to the 2019 squad. LingWei Kong comes to WSU from GuangZhou, China. The sophomore recorded her first collegiate victory on Feb. 16 against Nikolina Jokic of Louisville in three sets, and topped it with a straight set win on Feb. 17 vs. Erin Epperson of Creighton (6-1, 6-1). Kong is 9-4 with Ting-Ya Hsu in doubles in flight three. Esther Thebault, a native of Rennes, France, joins the Shockers for the spring season and is 9-7 in dual matches in the second and third flights.
 
FOSTER TOPS WINS LIST
Tenth-year head coach Colin Foster became the all-time wins leader for Wichita State women's tennis after a 4-0 sweep of Creighton on Feb. 17. His first win at Wichita State was also against Creighton (5-2) on Jan. 28, 2010. Foster has compiled an impressive 181-75 record in his 10 years as head coach. A Purdue graduate and three-year assistant at TCU, Foster passed Les Stafford (178-143, 16 seasons) for most wins in the history of women's tennis. Foster claimed eight MVC Regular Season Titles, eight MVC Tournament Titles and has reached the NCAA Team Championships nine-straight years.
 
Along with coaching 45 all-conference selections, 26 individual conference champions (20 singles and six doubles), 37 MVC Player of the Week winners and 19 MVC Scholar-Athletes, WSU compiled a perfect 55-0 record in MVC regular season matches and finished 78-0 overall against Valley competition since Foster's arrival in 2009. Foster earned MVC Coach of the Year honors five times, while six student-athletes were named MVC Player of the Year and four named MVC Freshman of the Year under his guidance.

Bizhukova and Bellucco Make History
Bizhukova and Bellucco completed many historic feats this fall, going down as one of the most succesful falls in recent history at Wichita State.  The duo began the season No. 14 in the ITA/Oracle Preseason Fall Rankings, the highest ranking for a Shocker duo since 1999-00.  Bizhukova and Bellucco, from Russia and Italy respectively, compiled wins over three top-30 opponents on their way to the semifinals of the ITA Riviera All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Knocked off No. 19 Sophie Whittle/Graciela Rosas of Gonzaga (8-4), No. 5 Emma Davis and Chandler Carter of Wake Forest (8-5) and USC's Angela Kuliokov/Rianna Valdes (No. 27), 8-5.
 
The Shocker tandem became the first Shocker duo in the history of women's tennis to reach the semifinals of the ITA Riviera All-American Championships. Also defeated No. 60 Elisa Koonik and Tessa van Der Ploeg of Wyoming (6-1) and reached the consolation quarterfinals of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Surprise, Ariz., becoming the first duo to compete in the prestigious event.
 
- Named American Athletic Conference Players of the Month in October-