Box Score Match Details
No. 59 South Florida 4, No. 62 Wichita State 3
USF (9-5), WSU (7-7)
Thursday, March 16, 2023 | 12:00 p.m.
Tampa, Fla. | USF Varsity Tennis Courts
 
Tampa, Fla. (March 16, 2023) – The University of South Florida women's tennis team defeated Wichita State on Thursday afternoon, 4-3, to improve to 9-5 on the season.
 
USF opened the doubles action with a strong performance on court three. Laura Pellicer and Ireland Simme gave USF its first victory of the day, defeating Theodora Chantava and Harriet Hamilton 6-2.
 
Wichita State responded on court two. The Shockers' duo of Natsumi Kurahashi and Lingwei Kong took an early lead and never looked back. They won 6-3 and put the doubles point in the hands of court one.
 
On court one, South Florida's star duo of Sierra Berry and Grace Schumacher faced off against Wichita State's Kristina Kudryavtseva and Jessica Anzo. After the Bulls took an early 4-2 lead, the Shockers responded and made it a 6-6 tie. Berry and Schumacher came up big in the tiebreaker, securing a 7-6 win and the doubles point.
 
In singles, it was a back-and-fourth competition the entire afternoon.
 
WSU took the first two courts, winning 6-4, 6-1 on court four and then 6-1, 6-1 on court six.
 
On court two, USF's Berry continued her stellar season. She defeated Kurahashi 6-3, 6-1 to give the Bulls their first singles point of the day.
 
With the score tied at two apiece, the match came down to courts one, three, and five.
 
In what was a hard-fought battle, USF's Laura Pellicer outlasted WSU's Kudryavtseva on court three, winning 6-4, 6-3 and putting South Florida one point away from the victory.
 
On court one, Schumacher and Kong were in the midst of a close contest, with Kong winning 7-6 in the first set and Schumacher leading 5-4 in the second set. Before another point could be scored, Kong was forced to retire due to medical reasons, giving USF the win by default.
 
Up Next
South Florida is back in action next Saturday at noon against DePaul.
 
Doubles Competition
 
1. Berry/Schumacher (USF) def. Kudryavtseva/Anzo (WSU) 6-1
2. Kurahashi/Kong (WSU) def. Bay Christians/Falceto Font (USF) 6-3
3. Pellicer/Simme (USF) def. Chantava/Hamilton (WSU) 6-2
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1)
  
Singles competition
 
1. Grace Schumacher (USF) def. Lingwei Kong (WSU) 6-7 (8-6), 5-4, USF win by default
2. Sierra Berry (USF) def. Natsumi Kurahashi (WSU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Laura Pellicer (USF) def. Kristina Kudryatseva (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Jessica Anzo (WSU) def. Ireland Simme (USF) 6-4, 6-1
5. Theodora Chantava (WSU) def. Marta Falceto Font (USF) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Harriet Hamilton (WSU) def. Cliona Walsh (USF) 6-1, 6-1
 
Order of finish: Singles (4,6,2,3,1,5)
 
About Women's Tennis
Be sure to follow USF women's tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. Head coach Cristina Moros is in her eighth year at the helm, as she led the program to an American Athletic Conference Championship in 2017.