PHOENIX, Ariz. – Darragh Glavin earned his first career win as a head coach as the Shockers jumpstarted their season with a 6-1 victory over Grand Canyon in a match that came three days early.
 
"Great to start the season with a win," head coach Darragh Glavin said. "Guys did a great job dealing with last minute changes and being ready to go."
 
Wichita State was originally supposed to open its spring tennis season Saturday against Illinois, but when bad weather was spotted in the Monday forecast, Grand Canyon and the Shockers decided to move their Monday match to Friday and set the spring season in motion a day early.
 
With a loss at No. 1 doubles, the Shockers had to battle back after getting down early on courts two and three. Misha Kvantaliani and Richey King pulled out the No. 2 doubles win, 7-6(5), and Duccio Petreni and Alejandro Jacome earned a 7-5 win on court three in their Shocker, just eight days after joining the team in Wichita, to clinch the doubles point for the Shockers.
 
"We got down early in doubles on two and three but did a great job fighting back and were able to keep that momentum going into singles," Glavin said. "Proud of our new guys for dealing with first-match nerves and being able to play disciplined tennis throughout."
 
Kristof Minarik picked up where he left off in the fall with a swift win at No. 1 singles (6-2, 6-2). Alex Richards (No. 3), Alejandro Jacome (No. 4) and Richey King (No. 6) also earned straight-set victories, guaranteeing the Shockers a season-opening win.
 
Misha Kvantaliani battled back from a tough first set at court two, winning 1-6, 6-1, 6-0, and Luke Bracks made a comeback attempt at No. 5 but ultimately fell in the third-set tiebreaker (6-7(5), 6-4, 7-10).
 
"Excited for us to continue to improve and take it one match at time," Glavin said. "Very excited to start off my head coaching career with this win. Proud of the team for all their hard work and looking forward to the rest of this season."