WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita State women's tennis defeated American Athletic Conference foe Tulsa, 4-3, Friday at Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex.
 
The Shockers (12-9) clinched the doubles point after Fatima Bizhukova and Marta Bellucco knocked off No. 13 Vera Ploner and Martina Okalova in the top slot, and grabbed wins on courts four, five and six for the 4-3 win.

FROM HEAD COACH COLIN FOSTER
"Our doubles has been a bit off of late and today we really brought it on all three courts. Ting-Ya (Hsu) and Alexandra (Lazarova) continue to play with a bunch of confidence, and Sarvinoz (Saidhujaeva) lost a long first set and then just took over from there. But ultimately, doubles was the difference and I'm really proud of how we performed in that area and hopefully we will build some momemtum and confidence in that area heading into tomorrow and the conference tournament."
 
DOUBLES
LingWei Kong and Ting-Ya Hsu put the Shockers on the board first, knocking off Megan Hopton and Marina Davtyan, 6-4, for their 10^th dual win as a duo. Flights one and two were battles, with the courts going back and forth the whole match. On court one, Bizhukova and Bellucco, who rank No. 30 in doubles, took on the American Athletic Conference's top-ranked duo – Ploner and Okalova. Trailing 4-1, Bizhukova and Bellucco clawed back to tie the match at five. The Shocker duo pulled off the 7-5 win for their fifth ranked win of the year to clinch the point for the Shockers. Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva and Esther Thebault led 6-5 over Martha Mathoula and Shura Poppe before play was suspended.
 
SINGLES
The Golden Hurricane raced out to wins in the top two slots to take an early 2-1 advantage. Mathoula, who holds a 17-2 record, knocked off Sandra Honigova in straight sets (6-3, 6-1) on court two. No. 80 Okalova followed up with a 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 111 Bizhukova in the first slot.
 
Hsu and Alexandra Lazarova collected wins on courts five and six to give the Shockers a 3-2 advantage. Hsu moved up to the fifth flight for the sixth time this season and collected a 6-4, 6-3 win over Poppe, while Lazarova took down Marina Davtyan on court six. After rolling in the first (6-1), Lazarova rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win in a tiebreaker (7-6(3).
 
The Golden Hurricane answered in the third spot, to tie the match at three. Ploner, who holds a 9-3 record in the third slot, dropped Thebault in a three-set match. After falling 6-1 in the first, Thebault rallied to take the second, 6-4. After trailing 4-1, the junior rallied to tie the match at four but Ploner prevailed in the final two games to take the match.
 
Saidhujaeva took on Hopton on court four with the match tied at three. After dropping a close first set, Saidhujaeva dominated in sets two and three (6-0, 6-0) to clinch the match for the Shockers.
 
The Shockers return to the court next week at the American Athletic Conference Tournament in Orlando, April 17-21.
 

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Wichita State 4, Tulsa 3
 
Doubles Results
1. #30 Fatima Bizhukova/Marta Bellucco (WSU) def. #13 Martina Okalova/Vera Ploner TLSW) 7-5
2. Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva/Esther Thebault (WSU) vs. Martha Mathoula/Shura Poppe (TLSW) 6-5, unfinished
3. Ting-Ya Hsu/Lingwei Kong (WSU) def. Megan Hopton/Marina Davtyan (TLSW) 6-4
 
Singles Results
1. #80 Martina Okalova (TLSW) def. #111 Fatima Bizhukova (WSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. #112 Martha Mathoula (TLSW) def. Sandra Honigova (WSU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Vera Ploner (TLSW) def. Esther Thebault (WSU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
4. Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva (WSU) def. Megan Hopton (TLSW) 6-7, 6-0, 6-0
5. Ting-Ya Hsu (WSU) def. Shura Poppe (TLSW) 6-4, 6-3
6. Alexandra Lazarova (WSU) def. Marina Davtyan (TLSW) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)