LAWRENCE, Kan. - Wichita State women's tennis cooled off after a great doubles performance and allowed the Jayhawks to get an upper hand in singles and take the match, 4-3, at the Jayhawk Tennis Center on Sunday.
 
Quotes from the Coach
Head Coach Colin Foster
"Marta has always showed she's capable of playing at this level. Last year we saw glimpses of that before the shutdown and even in the preceding seasons. She's always struggled to sustain her confidence and belief in herself, but she continues to work hard at that part of her game and it's just great to see her playing with that passion and joy, which lends itself to results like today. Jessie has acclimated quickly to the intensity of college tennis and doesn't get rattled with the inevitable ups and downs of a competitive match. She, like everyone, has room for growth, but she's got the intangibles, skills, desire, and willingness to try new things and grow. These traits will serve her well on and off the court. The ones that came up short were not lacking effort. All four of them continued to fight and search for ways to turn their matches around and just couldn't quite get their nose in front and get any breathing room in either set. Ultimately, KU just played too well at the crunch time late in sets."
 
Up Next
The Shockers travel to Kansas State on Feb. 19th to take on the Wildcats at 1:00 p.m., at the Mike Goss Tennis Stadium.
 
Doubles
The Jayhawks struck first in doubles with a quick 6-0 victory at No. 3. The Shockers shrugged off the early loss and continued fighting on the top two courts. Ting-ya Hsu and Jie Xin Zheng broke through first and won at No. 2, 6-3. The ranked duo of Marta Bellucco and Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva followed this victory with a 6-4 win on the top to give the point to the Shockers.
 
Singles
Zheng won her third match in a row and improved her team-best record to 5-2 by topping Kansas' Lagarde, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(8). Bellucco also picked up her second straight win by winning at No. 2, 7-5, 6-2.
 
Match Results
WSU 3, KU 4
 
Singles competition
1. Sonia Smagina (KAN) def. Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva (WSU) 7-5, 6-3
2. Marta Bellucco (WSU) def. Malkia Ngounoue (KAN) 7-5, 6-2
3. Carmen Roxana Manu (KAN) def. Natsumi Kurahashi (WSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Vassiliki Karvouni (KAN) def. Ting-Ya Hsu (WSU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Jie Xin Zheng (WSU) def. Tiffany Lagarde (KAN) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(8)
6. Julia Deming (KAN) def. Alexandra Lazarova (WSU) 6-3, 6-4
 
Doubles competition
1. #23 Marta Bellucco/Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva (WSU) def. Malkia Ngounoue/Carmen Roxana Manu (KAN) 6-4
2. Ting-Ya Hsu/Jie Xin Zheng (WSU) def. Sonia Smagina/Vassiliki Karvouni (KAN) 6-3
3. Tiffany Lagarde/Julia Deming (KAN) def. Alexandra Lazarova/Natsumi Kurahashi (WSU) 6-0
 
Match Notes
Wichita State 3-4
Kansas 2-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,4,2,1,6,5)