WICHITA – The Wichita State men's tennis team won back-to-back matches in the home opener, defeating Omaha, 4-1, and Washburn, 4-2, Sunday at Genesis Health Clubs.
 
"It's tough to play two matches in one day, so to be able to come back out and have another good performance in the afternoon was good to see," head coach Darragh Glavin said. "We knew both teams were tough teams, so these are two tough wins that we won't take for granted."
 
The Shockers (4-3) swept the doubles matches against Omaha (0-3), with Orel Ovil and Luke Bracks winning 6-3 at court three and Kristof Minarik and Alex Richards (No. 1) and Richey King and Misha Kvantaliani (No. 2) finishing simultaneously with 6-4 wins to clinch the doubles point.
 
King and Ovil went on to win their singles matches at courts six and two in straight sets, and Richards clinched the match with a three-set win at four after Omaha's Ethan Gaubert defeated Alejandro Jacome at No. 3.
 
The Shockers returned to the courts to play Washburn (0-1), who came out strong in doubles, handing out losses at courts two and three to claim the doubles point after King and Kvantaliani won their second doubles match of the day, 6-3, at No. 1.
 
Ovil made quick work of his singles opponent, going 2-0 on the day at court two with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. Bracks picked up a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 to put the Shockers up 2-1 in the match. The Ichabods tied it back up at 2-2 with a win at court one, but King regained the advantage for Wichita State, winning 6-4, 6-1 at No. 5
 
Alejandro Jacome clinched the match for the Shockers with his fifth singles win of the season and first at No. 3, taking down his opponent, 6-2, 6-3.
 
Freshman Shockers accounted for five of the seven singles points and were involved in three of four doubles wins.
 
"It was great having freshmen playing three spots today," Glavin said. "It's great for them to get this competition early on in their careers and get some wins."
 
Wichita State improves to 4-3 and will take on Texas Tech at Genesis Health Clubs Friday, Feb. 3.