Three Wildcats Move on to Round of 32 at ITA Central Regional Championships
Oct 13, 2018 | Tennis
IOWA CITY, Iowa?– K-State's Margot Decker, Maria Linares and Maria Ponomareva each moved on to Round of 32 in singles on the second day of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Regional Championships at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
"We competed well in doubles today, tough luck to lose in all tiebreakers," head coach Jordan Smith said. "We need to be a little more assertive and willing to take more control in the points. I thought we did a good job bouncing back in singles. All of the players competed hard and put themselves in a position to win."
In the Round of 64, Linares defeated Creighton's Ashley Ishimura, 6-1, 6-0, then Ponomareva ousted Missouri's Vivien Abraham, 6-2, 6-0. Decker defeated Thea Rice of Arkansas in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.
Linares will square off with Oklahoma's Camila Romero on Sunday. Decker will meet Serena Nash from Missouri and Ponomareva will face KU's Nina Khelnitchaia, who is ranked No. 106 by the ITA.
Junior Ines Mesquita won her opening match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, over Adorabol Huckleby of Iowa before falling to Kansas' Plobrung Plipuech, 7-6, 6-2, in the Round of 64.
Iowa State's Maty Cancini got by K-State sophomore Anna Turco, 2-6, 6-3, (7-5). Freshman Ioana Gheorghita dropped a 6-3, 7-5 decision to the Hawkeyes' Sophie Clark.
All three Wildcat doubles teams fell in tiebreakers in the Round of 32, as the duo of Ponomareva and Gheorghita lost to Oklahoma's Kianah Motosono and Laura Rico-Garcia, 8-7. Decker and Linares fell to Arkansas' Jackie Carr and Shwetha Prabakar, 8-7 (7-2), and Mesquita and Turco were defeated by Iowa's Michelle Bacalla and Ashleigh Jacobs, 8-7, (7-3).
The singles Round of 32 begins Sunday at 9 a.m., at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. Fans will be able to view select courts throughout the tournament on the official home page of the 2018 ITA Central Regional Championships along with results and schedules. Live updates will also be available on the team's official Twitter page @KStateTEN.
Players Mentioned
