WICHITA, Kan. - Marta Bellucco won her third singles match of the season but it wasn't enough to propel the Shockers as Kansas State won 5-2 at the Wichita Country Club on Friday.
 
Esther Thebault and Lingwei Kong were the first pair in doubles for the first time this year and proved their placement as they picked up a ranked win over the Wildcats pair of No. 54 Margot Decker/Anna Turco. This moves them to 2-1 together on the season.
 
On the singles side, Marta Bellucco started slow on court four and was down 3-0 in the first set against K-State's Lilla Barzo. Bellucco managed to stage a rally to win the first set 6-4 and earned a comfortable win with a 6-2 second set victory. Kong managed to force a third set on court three but was unable to complete the comeback and fell, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.
 
Quotes from the Coach
Head Coach Colin Foster
Opening Statement
"I just told the team that I was really proud of their fight. Obviously, the players that won (Marta Bellucco, Ting-Ya Hsu, and Kong/Thebault) should take a lot of confidence from that. Those are important steps, even in a team defeat, to have some individual success that they can build confidence from. Overall, we fought hard and created chances and just came up a little short. Lingwei was up in the third set, Sandra had a set point in the first set, and Esther was making a good comeback in the second set. Everyone's giving themselves chances, which as a coach and a competitor is all I can ask for."
 
On Marta Bellucco winning her team-best third match of the season.
"She's just done a really good job of staying composed. She's struggled with that in her career. There's going to be difficult stretches in a match, and she's been able to minimize the damage and bounce back strong whereas in the past she would let matches drift away from her."
 
Up Next
The Shockers face Arkansas on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Coleman Tennis Complex. This will be the earliest match played at the Coleman Tennis Complex since at least 2006.