Close points stacked up against Wichita State in a 4-0, season-ending loss to Tulsa in Thursday morning's American Athletic Conference quarterfinal round.
 
No. 4 seed Tulsa (14-10 and ranked No. 72 on the latest ITA Division list) won a series of close sets early to secure the doubles point and each of the first three completed singles matches.
 
"Honestly it was just one of those days," head coach Colin Foster said. "Credit to Tulsa for being a bit more aggressive and decisive in those moments to build a lead."
 
The Shockers (12-10) saw their first opportunity slip away during the doubles portion. Theodora Chantava and Harriet Hamilton posted a 6-1 win at No. 3 to set up a winner-take-all on court No. 2. Down 5-4, the WSU tandem of Lingwei Kong and Natsumi Kurahashi had two game-point opportunities to drawn even but were unable to capitalize.
 
"We've played great doubles lately," Foster said. "At No. 3 Theodora and Harriet played, by far, their best match of the season. We had some chances at No. 2 but couldn't quite convert."
 
Close sets were also the theme in the opening set of singles, with the losing side taking at least four games on all but one court. Nearly all of them went to Tulsa with Kurahashi losing in a tiebreaker, 6-7 (8), and Kristina Kudryavtseva falling, 7-5.
 
Harriet Hamilton was the lone bright spot, jumping to a 6-4, 3-1 lead at No. 6 singles.
 
WSU had some additional hope after Jessica Anzo battled back from a first-set loss at No. 2 to even her match at 4-6, 6-2.
 
However, both contests went unfinished after Tulsa powered to sweeps on courts 1, 4 and 5.
 
"In singles we created a lot of chances early and lost a bunch of deuce games," Foster noted. "Harriet and Jess were certainly in positions to get in the winning column. We just couldn't get enough time elsewhere to turn a couple other courts."
 
For Foster, a disappointing loss will be a small footnote to what was otherwise a season of progress. The Shockers spent two weeks in the ITA national rankings – their first listing since 2019 – and finished unbeaten at home (7-0) for the first time since 2016.
 
"This program took a big step forward this year, and everyone played a part in that," Foster said. "We're excited to build on the positives from this year. There was a lot to be proud of but also a lot to continue improving."
 

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[4] #72 Tulsa 4, [5] Wichita State 0
American Athletic Conference Championship | Quarterfinals
Thursday, Apr. 20, 2023 | 9 a.m. ET
Orlando, Fla. | USTA National Campus
 
Singles:
1. Laia Conde Monfort (TLS) def. Lingwei Kong (TLS) – 6-1, 6-0
2. Jessica Anzo (WSU) vs. Maria Berlanga (TLS) – 4-6, 6-2 unfinished
3. Lily Hutchings (TLS) led Natsumi Kurahashi (WSU) – 7-6 (8) unfinished
4. Myroslava Zelenchuk (TLS) def. Kristina Kudryavtseva (WSU) – 7-5, 6-1
5. Ana Naranjo Martinez (TLS) def. Theodora Chantava (WSU) – 6-4, 6-1
6. Harriet Hamilton (WSU) led Oleksandra Nahurska (TLS) – 6-4, 3-1 unfinished
 
Doubles:
1. Berlanga/Hutchings (TLS) def, Anzo/Kudryavtseva (WSU) – 6-1
2. Conde Monfort/Naranjo Martinez (TLS) def. Kong/Kurahashi (WSU) – 6-4
3. Chantava/Hamilton (WSU) def. Zelenchuk/Leather (TLS) – 6-1
 
Match Notes:
Order of Finish:
Singles – 1,5,4. Doubles – 3,1,2
Duration – 2:10