In a closely contested match, the Wichita State men’s tennis team encountered an early season setback, losing 6-1 to the University of Central Florida (UCF) at the USTA National Campus. This marks the first time in the Darragh Glavin era that the Shockers have lost their opening match. The Knights showcased strong performance in both doubles and singles play, securing their third consecutive victory this season. Meanwhile, the Shockers now prepare for their next challenge against South Florida on January 17th.

The competition between Wichita State and UCF began with the doubles matches. Initially, UCF's duo on court three dominated, clinching a decisive 6-1 victory over Arenui Luethi and Amir Milushev. However, the Shockers quickly bounced back as Kristof Minarik and Alejandro Jacome secured the first doubles win of the year with a 6-3 triumph on the top court. The pivotal moment came on court two where Vanja Hodzic and Luke Bracks were trailing 5-2 but managed to narrow the gap to 5-4 before ultimately falling 6-4, giving UCF the advantage in the doubles round.

Moving into the singles matches, UCF maintained its momentum by taking the first set on four out of six courts. True freshmen Milushev and Zaid Al Mashni faced early defeats, dropping their matches in straight sets. Despite these setbacks, Hodzic provided a spark for the Shockers with a solid 6-4, 6-2 win on court two, marking the first singles victory of the season. Unfortunately, this was not enough as UCF clinched the overall match shortly after with another win on court three. The remaining matches saw Minarik narrowly lose in a super tiebreak and Bracks succumbing in a hard-fought three-set battle.

The Shockers will soon regroup and travel to Tampa for their next encounter with the South Florida Bulls on Friday morning. With the experience gained from this match, the team aims to make adjustments and perform better in their upcoming fixtures.