Cats Pick Up Four Singles Wins at Thunderbird Classic
Nov 09, 2018 | Tennis
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Kansas State women's tennis team picked up four singles victories along with a doubles win at the 29th annual Thunderbird Classic at the Whiteman Tennis Center Friday.
"We had a mixed day," head coach Jordan Smith said. "Let a couple leads slip in doubles, but it's good that we are putting ourselves in a winning position. We have to do a little better with our closing. I'm happy with how we bounced back in singles. All seven matches were very competitive, and we pulled out a few three-set matches. The entire team did a great job of raising their level whenever they got down inthe match. I'm looking forward to see how the team performs tomorrow."
The team of freshman Maria Ponomareva, sophomore Maria Linares, sophomore Rosanna Maffei and junior Ines Mesquita went 3-1 in singles action against San Diego – each in three sets.
Ponomareva defeated USD's Nicole Anderson in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, while Maffei ousted Maria- Paula Torres, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Mesquita bested Maria Tyrina, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1. Linares fell to Solymar Colling, 6- 3, 7-6 (5).
In doubles, the Cats went 0-2 against a team comprised of athletes from Kansas and Washington.Washington's duo of Vanessa Wong and Katarina Kopcalic defeated Mesquita and Linares, 7-5. Maffeiand Ponomareva fell to Kansas' Julia Deming and Plobrug Plipuech, 6-4.
The second team made up of sophomore Margot Decker, sophomore Anna Turco, junior Ioana Gheorghita along with Washington freshman Delara Zamani ended the day going 2-2 against Washington/Kansas.
Turco defeated Washington's Katarina Kopcalic, 6-0, 6-4, and Kansas' Julia Deming fell to Zamani, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 for the team's second singles win. Washington's Vanessa Wong, who is ranked No. 25 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) defeated No. 111 Decker, 6-1, 6-4. Kansas' Plobrug Plipuech overtook Gheorghita, 6-2, 6-4.
During doubles action, the team went 1-1 against San Diego.
Decker and Turco picked up the doubles win by defeating Nicole Anderson and Maria Tyrina, 7-5. Zamani and Gheorghita lost to Solymar Colling and Maria-Paula Torres, 6-3.
On Saturday, the team of Ponomareva, Linares, Maffei and Mesquita will be going against Arizona State, while the team of Decker, Turco, Gheorghita and Zamani will take on Pepperdine/Arizona State in doubles.
For singles, the all K-State team will go against Washington/Kansas, while the K-State/Washington team will take on Michigan. Doubles play begins at approximately 3:30 p.m. CT with singles action to follow.
Players Mentioned
