The RoundHouse | 4/21/2021 4:21:00 PM

 
Building belief can take many forms and much time, with progress hard to measure.
 
Sometimes a loss or two helps.   
 
Wichita State's men's tennis team begins play in the American Athletic Championships on Thursday against fourth-seeded Memphis (9-7) at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. The Shockers are No. 33 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings which puts them in good shape to grab an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, if needed.
 
Wichita State (14-7) is seeded fifth in the American and defeated Memphis, ranked No. 32 nationally, 5-1 earlier this season.
 
The Shockers expect to play in the NCAA's for the first time since 2016. They made that their goal from the start of the season, talked about often and approached matches against ranked opponents with confidence. 
 
"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."
 
That is the belief coach Danny Bryan worked to instill. He saw the Shockers as talented enough to compete with top 25 teams and he filled the schedule with strong opponents. The strength of the American – seven schools in the ITA top 50 – helped.
 
"The hardest thing was getting the belief-level up," he said. "What we were always talking about was getting over the hump. We're in a really good spot now. The guys have gotten a ton of experience and a ton of confidence and are still super hungry."
 
The Shockers built that belief early in the season with wins over SMU and Utah. Competitive losses to Oklahoma (now No. 26 nationally) and Texas Tech (No. 21) provided more evidence and motivation.
 
"It was hard to lose to those two teams, because we were pretty close and I was one of the last matches," Ovil said. "When you come to these matches, you come with an extra drive to prove yourself."
 
Then the Shockers knocked off Memphis (then-No. 22), SMU again and then-No. 28 Pepperdine to solidify their NCAA resume.
 
"We lost against Texas Tech, 4-3, but we led on each court," sophomore Stefan Latinovic said. "We saw we are capable of doing big stuff. We bounced back stronger."
 
The Shockers can feel competitive at the top of the lineups against most opponents. Senior Murkel Dellien is No. 35 in singles in the ITA rankings. He teams with senior Marius Frosa for doubles and they are No. 39.
 
Younger Shockers have come through lower in the lineup. Nicolas Acevedo is 11-7 at singles in his first season. Redshirt freshman Ray Lo is 10-3. 
 
Latinovic went 2-1 at No. 1 singles while Dellien was sidelined. He is also 3-3 at No. 2 and 8-11 overall. Luka Mrsic and Ovil are 5-3 at No. 2 doubles and helped Wichita State win the doubles point against Pepperdine, Memphis and in the second meeting with SMU.
 
Latinovic said the Shockers play with an intensity fueled in part by what they see as recruiting snubs. They want to prove other coaches wrong.
 
"We are pushing each other as much as we can," he said. "I feel everyone on the team is capable of playing high-level matches, from No. 1 to No. 6."
 
Dellien is 12-2 in singles, 6-0 at No. 1 and 4-0 vs. ranked opponents. He brings an 11-match win streak into the conference tournament.
 
"That's someone we can rely on in a big match," Bryan said. "That's good confidence for the rest of the team."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.