Wichita State's all-time wins leader, Colin Foster (225-130, .634) has guided the Shockers to nine NCAA tournament appearances and eight conference tournament titles in 14 seasons as head coach (2009-23).
The Shockers have appeared in 89 different sets of national team rankings under Foster, climbing as high as No. 13 in March of 2016. Individuals have also thrived with six singles players and 10 different doubles tandems earning ITA national singles rankings at some point in their careers.
Foster has coached 43 singles players and 11 doubles tandems to all-conference honors. Six Shockers have earned conference player of the year status, with three-time honoree Lutfiana Budiharto (2010-12) followed by Julia Schiller (2014), Gabriela Porubin (2016) and Giulia Guidetti (2017).
Under Foster's watch, three singles players and two doubles tandems have earned bids to the NCAA Individual Championships. Budiharto -- a 2020 Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame inductee -- qualified twice (2010, 12), while Porubin and Fatima Bizhukova made the draw in 2016 and 2018. Stephanie Delmaciaand Delia Damaschin made an appearance in 2010 and Bizhukova teamed with Marta Bellucco for a 2019 trip..
ASSISTANT COACH JOELLE KISSELL
Assistant coach Joelle Kissell joined the Wichita State women's tennis staff in August, 2022.
Former NC State standout Joelle Kissell, brings five years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently at West Virginia where she spent the 2021-22 season as the Mountaineers’ volunteer assistant.
“We are excited to welcome Joelle to our program,” Foster said in a press release announcing the hire. “It was clear during the search process that her and my values align. Joelle is passionate about developing leaders and champions – on an off the court -- and preparing student-athletes for life after graduation. She was a very accomplished collegiate and professional athlete and will be able to share those experiences with our players. She has also coached at several different levels in and out of college tennis and made a positive impact at each stop.”
Before arriving at West Virginia, Kissell worked three seasons (2018-21) as the assistant coach at Seton Hill University, an NCAA Division II school in Greensburg, Pa., and another as volunteer assistant at Western Carolina (2014-15).
Prior to that, Kissell played professionally, climbing as high as No. 790 in the WTA rankings.
The Hostetter, Pa. native was a five-star recruit out of high school (per TennisRecruiting.net), ranking 46
th nationally. She won Pennsylvania’s AAA state singles title as a senior and a state doubles crown as a freshman.
The city of Wichita is a very open area and is easily navigable thanks to three major highways passing through the city. Wichita State University, which is located on the eastern side of Wichita, is just a short drive away from Wichita's historic "Oldetown" in downtown, while also being a very short drive from Wichita's beautiful, bustling east side, which features many excellent restaurants and fun activities such as Dave and Buster's and Topgolf. The east side of Wichita is also home to great shopping centers such as Bradley Fair, Greenwich Place, and Towne East Mall.
