Women's Tennis

Mean Green Start Strong But Can't Put Away Nationally Ranked Shockers

March 10, 2018

PALM SPRINGS, CA. -- The North Texas tennis team led for a majority of its Saturday afternoon match against the nationally ranked Wichita State Shockers in California but just couldn't seal the win as they lost 4-2.

The Mean Green won the doubles point against the high-powered Shockers and won three of the first six first sets in singles but the No. 23 nationally ranked Shockers came all the back to win.

Wichita State is the sixth ranked team the Mean Green have played this season.

"We played outstanding doubles and got off to great starts in singles against a very good team," said head coach Sujay Lama. "We had them against the ropes and just couldn't finish. There is a reason they are ranked high. They absorbed the blows and were the aggressors at the end."

UNT jumped out to a great start, winning the doubles point 2-1.

The Shockers won the first doubles match at No. 3, but North Texas quickly tied up the doubles score with a 6-4 win at No. 1 by Tamuna Kutubidze and Alexandra Heczey.

At No. 2, Maria Kononova and Minying Liang were resilient in a very tight match and battle through adversity to clinch the doubles point in a 7-4 tiebreaker.

The momentum carried over to the start of singles, with first set victories at No. 6 by Haruka Sasaki, Nidhi Surapaneni and Minying Liang. At No. 1, Kononova had an excelent start in the first-set with a 4-1 lead.

However, only Surapaneni could finish her match with a win. It was a big win for the freshman who was just a couple days removed from a heartbreaking loss against Middle Tennessee where she gave up a big lead. But on Saturday, she got it done as she picked up the Mean Green's lone singles victory with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 score.

"I am extremely proud of Nidhi and the way she finished the match," Lama said. "She had a heartbreaking loss against Middle Tennessee," Lama said. "She was determined to learn from that match and make it right this time. Our team needs to keep a similar mind set when approacing our our upcoming matches at home."

After winning the first set, Sasaki led 4-2 in the second-set but just couldn't close it out.

One of the main reasons the Shockers are ranked so high is because of the play by their No. 1 and No. 2 singles players. Wichita State's top-two singles players are nationally ranked.

Despite Kononova's strong start, Wichita State's No. 1 came roaring back and beat Kononova in straight sets. At No. 2, Kutubidze also lost in straights. The Shocker wins at No.1 and No.2 were the start of the singles competition and helped them take a 2-1 match score lead over the Mean Green.

With the lead and gaining momentum, the Shockers were able to combat another push by UNT after they tied the score with Surapaneni's victory.

Tied a two a piece, Wichita State finished off the Mean Green with three-set victories at No. 3 over Minying Liang and at No. 4 over Alexandra Heczey to clinch the match.Heczey's third-set went dow to the wire but the sophomore lost 7-5. Sasaki's singles match at No. 6 went unfinished.

"Although we are disappointed, we are going to take a lot of positives out of this match," Lama said. "We know we are a few breaks going our way from becoming the team we are capable of being. Each match, a piece of the puzzle is coming together and we just need to stay positive and believe in our selves."

NEXT UP
North Texas returns home to face Georgia State on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.

RESULTS
Singles Competition

1. #84 Fatima Bizhukova (WICH) def. #43 Maria Kononova (NT) 6-4, 6-1
2. #102 Sandra Honigova (WICH) def. Tamuna Kutubidze (NT) 6-1, 6-1
3. Giulia Guidetti (WICH) def. Minying Liang (NT) 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-2
4. Marta Bellucco (WICH) def. Alexandra Heczey (NT) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
5. Nidhi Surapaneni (NT) def. Gabriela Porubin (WICH) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
6. Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva (WICH) vs. Haruka Sasaki (NT) 1-6, 7-5, 4-2, unfinished

Doubles Competition
1. Alexandra Heczey/Tamuna Kutubidze (NT) def. Marta Bellucco/Fatima Bizhukova (WICH) 6-4
2. Maria Kononova/Minying Liang (NT) def. Giulia Guidetti/Ting-Ya Hsu (WICH) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva/Gabriela Porubin (WICH) def. Nidhi Surapaneni/Haruka Sasaki (NT) 6-3

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned