There was no warmth at the end of a match for the Bulldogs women’s tennis team, which began in bitter cold temperatures at the Wathen Tennis Center on Saturday and finished with a 5-2 loss against its first ranked opponent.
The No. 39 Wichita State Shockers brought consistency across the board and a 9-2 record to the court, as Fresno State brought its own impressive home-court advantage and a six-game win streak. But ultimately, the Shockers won the day late.

Fresno State head coach Ryan Stotland said he believes that through the disappointment, there’s an opportunity for his team.

“There’s a reason they’re ranked so high,” Stotland said. “They don’t give you anything; you have to earn what you’re getting. I think hopefully you can learn a lot more from failing than you can from succeeding. So we want to take our lessons from it.”

While Fresno State came out firing with plenty of energy, Wichita State settled in nicely, taking the doubles point two sets to one. However, the two losses by Fresno State were tightly contested, so it looked like a comeback was possible.

Sophomore Sophie Watts made the Fresno State faithful believers with a dismantling of Wichita State’s Julia Schiller in the second set after a tight first set. When the dust settled, she had won Fresno State the tying point with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over an opponent that had gotten the best of her in the past.

“I was the one controlling the points,” Watts said. “I was stepping in, being aggressive, trying not to let her dominate too many points like I did last time.­Definitely an improvement over last year (because) I lost last time.”

The game stayed generally even as one by one, the matches were decided. Anneka Watts and Tanya Murtagh each went down in two sets, but Maiar Sherif Ahmed overcame a one-set deficit to make things interesting with her 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Rebecca Pedrazzi on the No. 2 court.

Still, Wichita State’s strength came in its depth. The Shockers picked up wins on all remaining courts to contribute to the victory.

With Wichita State holding a precarious 3-2 lead and Rana Sherif Ahmed rolling following a 6-3 win in the second set, things were looking up for the Bulldogs. The momentum could not be sustained though, as Ahmed went down 6-1 in the final set.

The imminent loss also caused senior Aishwarya Agrawal, who had been battling an ankle injury sustained in her first set, to withdraw.

Despite the result, the match was closely contested throughout.

The Dogs have six days to rest and recuperate before heading on the road again to face rival Boise State on Feb. 27.