Shocker Tennis Wins 9th Straight MVC Title
The No. 49 WSU women’s tennis team won its ninth straight MVC Championship title on April 30, sweeping Southern Illinois 4-0 at the Bloomington Tennis Center. WSU ends conference play with an 89-match winning streak — and never lost a Valley match under head coach Colin Foster.
Wichita State’s Fatima Bizhukova and Gabriela Porubin won 6-1 in the top flight. The No. 1 doubles All-MVC selection improved to 20-7 overall. In singles play, Bizhukova won 6-0, 6-1 in the third flight. The freshman All-MVC choice has won 14-straight contests and improved to 21-6 overall.
Porubin won 6-0, 6-0 in the fourth flight. The All-Valley pick improved to 26-11 (17-6 duals) and remains perfect in her career against MVC opponents. Giulia Guidetti took the title with a 6-0, 6-2 victory in the top flight. Guidetti capped the regular season with a 24-13 overall record and went 13-7 in the top flight.
WSU finished the regular season with an 18-8 record. The Shockers broke the MVC women’s record for consecutive championships, exceeding Missouri State’s swimming and diving streak of eight straight titles. The Shockers also swept all six singles All-MVC honors, and took two out of three doubles All-MVC honors. Foster won his fourth straight MVC Coach of the Year award, while Guidetti won MVC Player of the Year.
Academic Recognition
Wichita State earned two NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Awards in women’s cross country and golf. To receive this recognition, teams must have a four-year rolling APR of 1,000. The APR measures a team’s performance by tracking the academic progress of scholarship student-athletes each semester. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation. The latest multi-year APRs are based on scores from 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16. Every WSU sport met or exceeded the APR standard of 930 or above to be in good standing with the NCAA.
Shocker Golf Wins MVC Championship
Grant Bennett, left, was named to the MVC’s men’s golf Scholar-Athlete First Team for the second-straight year, while the Shockers edged out Illinois State by five strokes to win their 21st MVC Championship.
The championship game against the Redbirds went down to the wire. Yannik Emmert, a sophomore from Germany, led WSU with an even-par 72 in the final round to finish second individually.
He was named MVC Golfer of the Year and to the All-Conference team. Bennett ended play tied for third. The senior from Prosper, Texas, shot a 1-over 73, even-par 72 and 3-over 75 through the three rounds. He earned All-Conference honors.
Shocker head coach Grier Jones earned Coach of the Year honors for a league-best 14th time. The Shockers bring their time in the MVC to a close by leaving a legacy of 21 conference titles, more than any other school in The Valley.
— WSU Sports Information
Baker on Campus
Shocker Ron Baker, now playing pro ball with the New York Knicks, returned to Wichita State on May 19 to sign autographs at the University Bookstore.
The event was co-hosted by the bookstore and the WSU Alumni Association. WSUAA members who attended were eligible to receive a free Dock 410 photo of Baker as a Shocker.
