K-State Opens Big 12 Championship with Sooners
Apr 26, 2005 | Tennis
This Week For Kansas State
Big 12 Women's Tennis Championships
#7 Oklahoma vs. #10 Kansas State
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Austin, Texas - Penick-Allison Tennis Center
MANHATTAN - Kansas State (8-11 overall and 3-8 Big 12) enters this weekend’s Big 12 Women’s Tennis Championships in Austin, Texas, as the 10th-seed and will face the seventh-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (14-11 overall, 4-7 Big 12) at 1:30 p.m., on Thursday. The Wildcats will attempt to end its longest losing skid of the season at four matches in the first round of the Big 12 Championships.
In the first meeting this season, Oklahoma defeated K-State 6-1 in Norman, Okla. The Sooners hold a 7-19 record in the 26 meetings between the schools, including a 1-2 mark at a neutral site.
The last time these squads met in the Big 12 Championships, the Wildcats came out on the winning end with a 4-0 win during the 2001 season.
Sooners: At a Glance
Oklahoma enters the weekend ranked 59th in the latest ITA computer rankings. The Sooners finished Big 12 play with three players among the best at their position in conference play: Bethany Griffin, 5-6, which is sixth at number three; Jessica Braver, 6-5, which is second at number four; and Christi Baxley, 6-3, which is second at number five.
Two Among Big 12’s Best
K-State completed the season with two players among the best at their playing position: freshman Tamar Kvaratskhelia and junior Jessica Simosa. Kvaratskhelia leads the Big 12 at the number two position with a 9-2 mark. Simosa is third in the league at the number three position with a mark of 6-5.
Triple 20s for Wildcats
The trio of Tamar Kvaratskhelia, Maria Rosenberg and Jessica Simosa each surpassed the 20-win barrier in singles play this season. The group tabulated a record of 72-38 (.655) at the top three positions of the K-State lineup. Kvaratskhelia finished the regular season with a record-breaking mark of 30-6. She is the first Wildcat to surpass 30 wins in a single season. Rosenberg and Simosa each set career-highs in singles wins with 22 and 20, respectively.
The only other time K-State has had three players win 20 or more matches in singles play during a season was in 2001. The trio of Alena Jecminkova, Petra Sedlmajerova and Eva Novotna tallied a mark of 64-35 (.646). Novotna led the Wildcats with a mark of 23-10. Jecminkova finished with the second-best mark of 21-12 and Sedlmajerova finished at 20-13.
Bietau Second-Longest Tenured Coach in Big 12
K-State head coach Steve Bietau has the second-longest tenure of any coach in the Big 12. The leader of the Wildcats is tied with Texas A&M’s Bobby Kleinecke and trails Texas’ Jeff Moore, who has been at the helm of the Longhorns for 23 seasons.
Bietau’s 20 seasons directing the Wildcats trails only Ward Haylett’s 35 seasons as track and field as the longest tenure of any Wildcat coach.
Rosenberg New Career Leader in Singles Wins
Maria Rosenberg became K-State’s career singles win leader after defeating Lynzee Kever of Colorado, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. The win also improved her season record to 22-13, which is a new career-high for wins in a season and ties her for ninth all-time.
Rosenberg is also just seven doubles wins away from first on the school’s career doubles wins record. The current mark is held by Petra Sedlmajerova (1999-2003) at 73-55.
Freshman Sets Season Wins Mark; Leads Winning Percentage
Tamar Kvaratskhelia became K-State’s new singles wins in a season leader with a record of 30-6. The previous record was held by former All-American Karina Kuregian with a mark of 28-7 during the 1994-95 season. Kvaratskhelia is the first Wildcat to surpass the 30-win total in a single season.
The Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia native now has a career singles win percentage of .833, which is tops in K-State history. The percentage is also the highest for a season, surpassing Kuregian’s mark in 1994-95 of .800.
Senior Named Big 12 Athlete of the Week
Kansas State senior Maria Rosenberg was named Big 12 women’s tennis Athlete of the Week for April 11-17. It is the first Big 12 honor this season for Rosenberg.
The Manhattan, Kan., native earned the citation on the wings of becoming K-State’s all-time leader in singles wins with a mark of 78-51. Last week, Rosenberg posted two singles wins, dropping Elizaveta Avdeeva of Kansas in straight sets (7-5, 6-2). and followed with a come-from-behind win over Lynzee Kever of Colorado (5-7, 6-3, 6-2) to establish the new record.
Victorious Venezuelan
After starting the season 1-2, junior Jessica Simosa is 11-5 since Feb. 12 for an 12-7 record this spring, including a mark of 6-5 in Big 12 play. The Valencia, Venezuela product has an overall mark of 20-16 this season and is currently riding a three-match winning streak.
Simosa has a career mark of 56-42, including a 39-25 record in dual match play. She is just six wins shy of tying for sixth on the career singles wins list.
Prochazkova on Brink of Perfect 10
Tereza Prochazkova (pro-KOS-kova) is just one victory shy of winning 10 matches on the season, 9-10. The Brno, Czech Republic product started the season on the injured list, rehabbing from ACL surgery, but strung together two separate streaks of four straight wins.
If Prochazkova captures the elusive win, she would be the fourth Wildcat to reach double figures this season, joining teammates Kvaratskhelia, Rosenberg and Simosa. It would be the first time since the 2002-03 that four or more players have reached double digits in wins. In 2002-03, five players reached double digits and won no less than 17 matches.
Diaz has Double Vision This Spring
Judith Diaz has been a bright spot in doubles play for the Wildcats this spring, notching a mark of 12-7. Overall this season, the Margarita Island, Venezuela product has registered a 16-10 doubles record to push her career mark to 26-33.
Da Valle Making Da’ Adjustment
Newcomer Fernanda Da Valle (duh-VYE-aa) has made the difficult transition from semester transfer to lineup contributor this season. The Mendoza, Argentina native is 8-11 this season and has a 3-8 mark in the Big 12. Da Valle is 2-3 in the number five position and 6-8 at number six.
It’s a Baker’s Dozen for Kvaratskhelia
Tamar Kvaratskhelia surpassed her own freshman record for a winning streak, earning her 13th straight victory last Wednesday against Nebraska. Kvaratskhelia had set the mark during the fall with 11 straight to open her career as a Wildcat.
Doubles Point Taken
The Wildcats are 7-2 (.778) this season when winning the doubles point. When losing the point, K-State is 1-9 (.100).
Freshmen Class Among Best in Big 12
The Wildcats’ freshmen class of Fernanda Da Valle, Olga Klimova, Tamar Kvaratskhelia and Tereza Prochazkova is among the winningest singles match freshmen classes in the Big 12. The quartet has a singles winning percentage of .625, which ranks them fourth behind Baylor (.789), Oklahoma (.667) and Nebraska (.686). Overall, the freshmen have a record of 55-33, led by Kvaratskhelia who has the most singles wins by a freshman in the Big 12 with a record of 30-6.
Final Number: 6
Records broken by freshman Tamar Kvaratskhelia. The newcomer holds the following marks: singles wins in a season, singles wins by a freshman, combined wins by a freshman, career and season singles winning percentage and winning streak by a freshman.
