WICHITA, Kan. – In a match that saw four singles matches go to third sets, the Wichita State women's tennis team fell in a highly competitive match to the Memphis Tigers on Thursday afternoon at Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex, 4-3.
 
With the win, Memphis (3-10) has won back-to-back matches after a 1-10 start to the season. Wichita State dropped to 6-6 with the defeat and 1-1 against American Athletic Conference opponents this season.
 
In doubles, the Shockers seemed destined to take the point as Kristina Kudryavtseva and Theodora Chantava delivered a 6-2 win at court two, and the Shocker pair of Giorgia Roselli and Xin Tong Wang held a 4-1 lead at the top court. However, Shockers couldn't hold on to their lead, ultimately losing 6-4, and Memphis defeated Clara Whitaker and Sati Aubakirova at court three, 6-3, to take the doubles point.
 
In singles, the competitiveness continued as there were multiple momentum swings across all six courts.
 
Wang was the first to fall losing 6-4, 6-2 at the top singles court to put the Tigers up 2-0. Following that, WSU's Tatyana Nikolenko put together a fantastic 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 three-set win to get the Shockers on the board and Anne Knuettel tied the match at 2-2 with a narrow 7-5, 6-4 win at court six.
 
Much later, Roselli stormed back from a 6-0 first set defeat to win her second set 6-1, but ultimately fell narrowly in her third set, losing her match 6-0, 1-6, 6-4, putting Memphis up 3-2. 
 
Chantava would stave off a comeback from her opponent at court four, winning 6-0, 3-6, 6-2, to tie the match at 3-3 and giving her doubles partner Kudryavtseva the chance to win the match.
 
After losing her opening set, the junior from Moscow, Russia, unbelievably rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the second set, winning 7-5 to force a third set. In the third, Kudryavtseva fell down 5-2, but put together another great rally to tie it up at 5-5, eventually moving to a tiebreak to decide the match. She again fell in a massive hole, trailing 5-1 and then 6-2, but won three straight points to move within 6-5, but unfortunately, the deficit was too much to overcome as she ultimately fell in a set tiebreak, losing her match 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5), giving Memphis the 4-3 win.

Next up, the Shockers begin their spring break trip on March 13 in Ruston, La., against Louisiana Tech at LA Tech Tennis Center.