The Wichita State women's tennis team finished out a sweep of its four-game homestand with a 4-0 win over previously unbeaten UT Arlington on Saturday afternoon on the Wichita Country Club indoor courts.
 
The Shockers (4-1) claimed a tightly-contested doubles point and Lingwei Kong, Kristina Kudrtyavtseva and Theodora Chantava rolled in straight sets at Nos. 2-4 singles.
 
UTA, last year's Sun Belt runner-up, dropped to 3-1.
 
We continue to play aggressive doubles, which sets the tone, and then calm, confident tennis under pressure," head coach Colin Foster said.
 
The teams appeared headed for a long afternoon of tennis following the doubles portion, which took nearly an hour to complete.
 
The No. 1 tandem of Kong and Natsumi Kurahashi improved to 3-0 with a comfortable 6-3 victory, but the other two courts came down to razor thin margins.
 
No. 3 doubles was abandoned in the midst of a tiebreaker after the No. 2 team of Jessica Anzo and Kudryavtseva rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win 7-5.
 
The heart of WSU's singles lineup padded its records. Kong (4-1 in duals) won her fourth consecutive match while Kudryavtseva and Chantava improved their spring records to 4-1 and 3-1 respectively.
 
Kurahashi (3-1) was well ahead at No. 1 singles – 7-6 (5), 4-1 -- but lost a race to the finish line. Her match, as well as No. 5 and 6 singles, went unfinished after Kudryavtseva delivered the clincher.
 
The Shockers' four-match winning streak includes three wins over teams that beat them during the 2021-22 season (Drake, Abilene Christian and now UTA).
 
Foster liked the scores, but is even more happy with his players' willingness to trust the process.
 
"If you're doing the right things and playing the right type of points, over the course of the match the percentages are going to work out for you," Foster said.
 
"We're doing a good job not to panic when we're doing the right thing but maybe losing a couple of points or games in a row. Trusting that, maybe there are adjustments to be made, but our games are good. Over the course of a match, if we stay true to ourselves, we're going to come out on top."
 
Winners of four straight duals, the Shockers will play each of their next 10 on road or neutral courts, beginning next weekend in Tulsa, Okla. They're scheduled to take on Tulsa on Saturday and Louisiana Tech on Sunday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. Both matches get under way at 1 p.m. CT.
 
WSU's next home action comes Friday, Mar. 24 against South Dakota and Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex.
 

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Wichita State 4, UT Arlington 0
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023
Wichita, Kan. (Wichita Country Club)
 
Singles:
1. Natsumi Kurahashi (WICH) vs. Liz Chileno (UTA) -- 7-6 (7-5), 4-1, unfinished
2. Lingwei Kong (WICH) def. Sarina Reinersten (UTA) -- 6-2, 6-3
3. Kris. Kudryavtseva (WICH) def. Tara Gorinsek (UTA) -- 7-5, 6-3
4. Theodora Chantava (WICH) def. Bruna Casasampere (UTA) -- 6-3, 6-2
5. Harriet Hamilton (WICH) vs. Ana Paula Jiminez (UTA) -- 0-1, unfinished
6. Marlene Foerster (WICH) vs. Francisca Vergara (UTA) -- unfinished
 
Doubles competition:
1. Kong/Kurahashi (WICH) def. Gorinsek/Jiminez (UTA) -- 6-3
2. Jessica Anzo/Kudryavtseva (WICH) def. Chileno/Reinersten (UTA) -- 7-5
3. Chantava/Hamilton (WICH) vs. Casasampere/Vergara (UTA) -- 6-6, unfinished
 
Match Notes:
UT Arlington 3-1
Wichita State 4-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,3,2)
Time: 2:33