Wichita State women’s tennis earns first NCAA Tournament bid since 2018
There was no real shock Monday afternoon when Wichita State saw its name appear in the NCAA women’s tennis tournament bracket.
The Shockers had spent the last 10 weeks ranked inside the top 40 nationally. They had climbed as high as No. 24 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. They had built a 21-4 resume, put together a program-record 19-match winning streak and finished as the second-highest-rated team outside the power-conference structure in the country.
Still, first-year WSU coach Jacob Eddins admitted there is a difference between feeling confident and seeing the proof.
Until Wichita State’s name actually appeared on the Selection Show screen, there was still a nervous wait.
“It’s a really big deal because this is a really, really tough pathway to get there,” Eddins said. “You’ve got to be really good and really clean all season long. So this is a testament to our girls and the hard work they’ve put in and the belief that they’ve had all season.”
For the first time since 2018, Wichita State is back in the NCAA Tournament.
The Shockers earned an at-large bid Monday and will open NCAA play against SMU at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Oklahoma. WSU is the No. 3 seed in the Norman Regional, while SMU is the No. 2 seed.
Host Oklahoma is the No. 4 overall seed and will face Kansas in the other first-round match.
The winner of those two matches will meet for a spot in the Round of 16.
For WSU, the destination made sense. Eddins had wondered if the committee might send the Shockers to Norman, given that it is less than a three-hour drive from Wichita. The opponent was a little more intriguing.
WSU has already beaten SMU once this season, taking a 4-2 victory on Jan. 19 in Wichita. But Eddins does not believe that result carries much weight now.
For one, it was the third match of the season. But more importantly, SMU added standout freshman Amelie Van Impe to its lineup shortly after the WSU match. Van Impe is now ranked No. 21 nationally in singles, plays No. 1 singles for SMU and also anchors the Mustangs’ No. 1 doubles team.
In other words, this is not the same SMU team the Shockers saw in January.
“They’re a really tough opponent and it’s going to be a tough match,” Eddins said. “But we’re excited about the opportunity and confident that we’re going to be able to go down there and give ourselves a chance to win.”
The opportunity is significant for a WSU program making its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Shockers are 2-12 all-time in NCAA play with first-round wins coming in 2007 and 2018. That 2018 team also received an at-large bid and advanced to the Round of 32, just the second NCAA win in program history.
This year’s group has a chance to add to that short list.
The Shockers put themselves in position with one of the best regular seasons in program history. Their 19-match winning streak stretched from Jan. 31 to April 18 and carried them into the championship match of the American Conference tournament, where the run finally ended against host Rice.
Even with that loss, the American produced a strong enough season to earn three NCAA bids. Rice claimed the automatic berth by winning the tournament title, while Wichita State and Charlotte both received at-large selections.
“This is where we want to be every year as a program,” Eddins said. “We want to be competing for championships and then to have the strength of schedule that gives us a chance to get in as an at large.”
The foundation of WSU’s success has been doubles.
The Shockers have spent much of the season turning matches in their favor before singles even begins. The No. 1 team of Giorgia Roselli and Xin Tong Wang has led the way, while Kristina Kudryavtseva and Theodora Chantava at No. 2 doubles and Anne Knuettel and Palmy Vimuktananda at No. 3 have given WSU the kind of depth that translates well in postseason tennis.
When the Shockers win the doubles point, the math becomes simple: split the six singles matches and the team match is theirs.
That formula has carried WSU all season. The challenge now is making sure it survives the long pause between the conference tournament and NCAA play.
Eddins said the week off after the American tournament was useful. But once the bracket was revealed Monday, the focus sharpened.
Now there is an opponent. There is a site. There is a path.
There is also a chance for Wichita State to win an NCAA Tournament match for just the third time in program history.
“We want to be playing our best tennis at the end of the year when it matters the most,” Eddins said. “As much as it slows down after the conference tournament, I think that the adrenaline will pick up this week since we know who we’re preparing for now.”
This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 7:33 PM.
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