The RoundHouse | 12/29/2021 1:47:00 PM

 

Marius Frosa and Murkel Dellien did not waste their COVID-19 bonus season of eligibility.
 
With those fifth-year seniors providing power at the top of lineup in singles and doubles, Wichita State's men's tennis enjoyed one of its best seasons.
 
"They are the face of the program on a national level," coach Danny Bryan said. "They have taken us to a completely different spot."
 
The Shockers earned the program's first at-large spot in the NCAA Championships and returned to the 64-team field for the first time since 2016. They finished with a 15-9 record and No. 37 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings after peaking at No. 29. Bryan was named Central Region ITA Coach of the Year.
 
Deillien and Frosa went 9-5 to finish No. 36 in the national doubles rankings. As a team, they went 51-22 for their career. In 2019, they advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals to claim NCAA All-American honors.
 
Deillien earned a spot in the NCAA Singles Championships, also a first since 2016, and finished the season No. 48 nationally with a 14-3 record. Coaches voted him American Athletic Conference Player of the Year on the strength of his 6-0 record in conference matches. He defeated six ranked opponents in 2021.
 
Frosa, who played at No. 1 early in the spring, went 12-7 in singles.
 
 

The final point for @MurkelD and Marius Frosa as a Shocker duo.

Their impact will be felt for years to come.#GoShocks | #WatchUs 🌾🎾 pic.twitter.com/Z0RSvzfvpV

— Wichita State Men's Tennis (@GoShockersMTEN) May 9, 2021

While No. 20 Arizona State defeated the Shockers 4-3 in NCAA play, Dellein and Frosa won the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches and the No. 1 doubles match.
 
The Shockers did plenty of work to get in the field as an at-large team. Their confidence grew early in the season and they talked openly about their NCAA goal.
 
"We changed our mindset," sophomore Orel Ovil said. "We want to be in the top 25 in the nation. Everyone was on board with that mission."
 
They started proving it with wins over SMU and Utah – with Dellien sidelined – and in losses to Oklahoma and Texas Tech. As the spring progressed, Wichita State defeated NCAA teams Memphis, Denver and Pepperdine. 
 
"We made the NCAA tournament, and it came down to the last match on and having match points against a team that made the Pac-12 tournament finals and beat UCLA and Stanford," Bryan said. "They did a lot of great things. We accomplished a lot of our goals."
 
The Roundhouse is counting down the 10 most interesting and significant stories of 2021 for Wichita State athletics. Check back this week for more.