Wildcats Drop Close Match to Missouri
Feb 10, 2017 | Tennis
MANHATTAN, Kan.- The Kansas State
women’s tennis lost its first home match of the season to Missouri in an abrupt
4-2 finish at Mike Goss Tennis Stadium Friday. Carolina Costamagna and Livia Cirnu each won their singles matches for the Wildcats.
K-State (4-3) lost the doubles point for the first time in its last five matches. The Missouri (4-1) duo of Cassidy Spearman/Bea Machado Santos defeated Millie Stretton/Ana Garcia Navas, 7-5. It was the pair’s first lose at the No. 2 positon of the season.
The Wildcat team of Iva Bago/Ines Mesquita had been undefeated (4-0) on the season, but fell to Missouri’s Amina Ismail/Mackenzy Middlebrooks, 6-3, to help the Tigers win the crucial doubles point.
In singles play, the Wildcats experienced more success. At the No. 1 position, Costamagna defeated Brianna Lashway, 6-1, 6-1. The win was Costamagna’s fifth straight.
Cirnu extended her team-best singles win streak to six with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Mizzou’s Claire Sullivan.
Following a Missouri victory at the No. 3 with Cassidy Spearman over Ines Mesquita, the score was knotted up at two, with close contests on the remaining courts.
Senior Palma Juhasz looked poised to pick up the third singles win for K-State, needing to just win one more game to win her match, but went down with an injury resulting in a retired match that credited Missouri with the win at No 5.
Moments later, Garcia Navas dropped a close match to Missouri’s Tate Schroeder to clinch the victory for the Tigers, 4-2.
Stretton’s tight match then went unfinished at the No. 2 position.
The Wildcats ended their five-match home stand with a record of 4-1 and will now be on the road for the next four matches.
K-State will play next at North Texas on Friday, Feb. 17, and then will take on Washington State on Feb 18 in Denton, Texas.
