SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Santa Clara women's tennis team hits the court again on Thurs., Feb. 19 when they host the visiting Wichita State Shockers at 2 pm.

In their last two matches, the Broncos have fallen to strong teams in San Jose State and Fresno State to put them at 2-2 on the season.  But Santa Clara continues to look ahead and focus on what is in front.

"Our goal is to try and get better each match, which we're definitely doing," said Bronco head coach Ben Cabell. 

The Broncos face another sturdy opponent in No. 39-ranked Wichita State.  The Shockers are 8-2 overall and 1-1 on the road, with their only losses coming to WCC member Pepperdine on Jan. 24 and Oklahoma on Feb. 14.  From Jan. 25 through Feb. 12 they pulled off six consecutive wins against Denver, Missouri, Creighton, Colorado, UMKC and Kansas.  

The Fresno State match marked the first time this season that Santa Clara did not clinch the doubles point this season, which has so far been a strong suit of the Broncos.  Another budding strength is the performance of the youth on the team.  "Our young players are definitely showing improvement; even though they lost, both Zeina [El Tawil] and Danielle [Zinn] are playing very well," added Cabell.

Following Thursday's match, the Broncos head down to Santa Barbara to face the Oregon Ducks and the Santa Barbara Gauchos on Feb. 21 and 22, respectively.  Santa Clara then returns to the Bay Area to play the San Francisco Dons at the Olympic Club on Mar. 8 as they kick off WCC play.

"Eventually the scores will come around because we are doing a lot of good things," finished Cabell.  "Our hard work is definitely going to pay off, it's just a matter of time." 

Keep up with the SCU women's tennis team on Twitter, Facebook and SantaClaraBroncos.com.