Event: Missouri State (2-0) at Wichita State (0-0)
Date & Time: Thursday, Jan. 26, 12 p.m.
Location: Wichita Country Club, Wichita, Kan.
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SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State begins its spring tennis campaign Thursday at noon when it visits Wichita State for a Missouri Valley Conference dual at Wichita Country Club.

The Bears enter the spring season with a 2-0 record after a pair of dual wins against Tennessee State during the fall semester, and face a stiff challenge against a WSU club that has posted eight consecutive unbeaten MVC regular seasons, pairing each with a postseason conference title and NCAA berth. 

Now in their third season of play since tennis was reinstated at Missouri State for the 2014-15 school year, the Bears look to continue an upward trend that saw their dual record move from 4-17 in 2015 to 11-14 last season. 

MSU picked up a total of  30 singles and 10 doubles wins during a fall season that also included four tournaments, with four players earning at least five singles victories. 

Despite just one senior and two juniors on the roster, Mallory Weber's club has plenty of experience, as sophomores Fati Khamissi and Phoebe Boeschen each picked up 13 singles victories last season, while Boeschen teamed with junior Anelisse Torrico Moreno for an 11-9 doubles mark in 2015-16. Senior Ekaterina Donetskova earned a team-high six singles wins in the fall, while freshmen Alexia Meyer and Alye Darter grabbed five wins apiece and junior Abbey Belote earned a trio of singles wins in seven fall matches.