SE: K-State Tennis Stays Positive, Fights Together in Thrilling Comeback Win over Washington State
Feb 12, 2018 | Tennis, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
About two hours before K-State women's tennis sophomore Ines Mesquita was being lifted off the ground by her teammates to celebrate a heart-pounding 4-3 win against Washington State, things looked bleak for the Wildcats.
After winning the doubles point, K-State dropped the top three singles battles, two of which went three sets, and faced a difficult 3-1 deficit. Making a comeback look even more challenging, Mesquita and Anna Turco dropped their first sets at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. If either lost another set, the match would be over.
"We were down 3-1 but we weren't negative," Turco said, as K-State (4-1) was coming off a 4-1 win over North Texas on Friday at Body First Indoor Tennis Center. "We stayed positive and we tried to fight."
And fight they did.
The Wildcats' comeback ended with Mesquita, but it started with K-State's senior captain, Carolina Costamagna. The experienced Argentinian extended the match with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 4 singles.
"That was really great, especially when the momentum shifted," K-State associate head coach Jordan Smith said of Costamagna's win. "For our senior to come out there, really get the energy going again, pump herself up and take care of business in straight sets to allow us to get that momentum rolling, that was huge. That made the match for us, for sure."
Next followed Turco, a freshman who's been limited by a knee injury most of the season. Not only did she drop her first set against Melisa Ates, she lost every game. Regardless, the Italian Wildcat dug deep and pulled some motivation from her teammates to bounce back.
"I made a lot of mistakes (in the first set). I didn't know what to do. I was down. I didn't have much energy, but then I went to the bathroom and I kept saying to myself, 'You can do it. Fight for the other girls,'" Turco said. "They were still playing and it was so close, so (I knew) we could win the match. So I just stayed there and tried to make her play more and more balls to make her make some mistakes."
Turco's plan of persistence paid off. She won each the final two sets, 6-2, 6-3, to even the team score up at 3-3.
"It's crazy. It's her second match back since November," Smith said. "We knew it was going to take some time. Obviously the first set showed that, but she stuck with the plan and battled back and won that point for us. That was huge."
From there, it was all on Mesquita.
After a 4-6 loss in the first set, Mesquita regrouped but still found herself in a dangerous situation against Washington State's Barbora Michalkova. The two fought to a tiebreaker in the second set, and Mesquita fell in a 1-3 hole to start the must-win situation.
"Caro and Anna were still playing and (I knew) if I lost the match, we would lose," Mesquita said of her mindset in the tiebreaker. "So I said, 'Just keep playing. Just give it everything and take your time because you can give them a chance win the match. Just keep your head in the game and just take your time.'"
Mesquita won the next six points in a row to win the tiebreaker and force a decisive third set, which would be no less dramatic. Tied at 5-5 in the third set, Mesquita held serve for a one-game lead that brought a surge of excitement to her team, loudly supporting her through every point.
"It was great feeling everybody supporting me," Mesquita said. "They were putting everything in them towards me. It was awesome."
"That's something that we don't take for granted," Smith added of the sideline support. "It's really special, especially from the girls that maybe didn't play so well. One, two and three lost, but yet they came out here on the sideline, they cheered as hard as they could and that really helped us get over the hump and get back in this match."
Mesquita's challenge was far from finished, however. To end the match without another nerve-wracking tiebreaker, she had to break Michalkova's serve, a feat the Cougars' lanky senior made difficult all day. Ultimately, Mesquita found a way to do so to secure the set, 7-5, and clinch the team's second win of the weekend and third in a row.
"The three first singles were great. They lost but they gave everything and then they were supporting us on the bench," Mesquita said of Margot Decker, Rosanna Maffei and Maria Linares. "Caro was great and after what Anna did, I said I can't lose because she gave everything she had. I just said, 'I'm going to give it everything. I just have to.' That was it. I gave it everything."
About two hours before K-State women's tennis sophomore Ines Mesquita was being lifted off the ground by her teammates to celebrate a heart-pounding 4-3 win against Washington State, things looked bleak for the Wildcats.
After winning the doubles point, K-State dropped the top three singles battles, two of which went three sets, and faced a difficult 3-1 deficit. Making a comeback look even more challenging, Mesquita and Anna Turco dropped their first sets at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. If either lost another set, the match would be over.
"We were down 3-1 but we weren't negative," Turco said, as K-State (4-1) was coming off a 4-1 win over North Texas on Friday at Body First Indoor Tennis Center. "We stayed positive and we tried to fight."
And fight they did.
The Wildcats' comeback ended with Mesquita, but it started with K-State's senior captain, Carolina Costamagna. The experienced Argentinian extended the match with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 4 singles.
"That was really great, especially when the momentum shifted," K-State associate head coach Jordan Smith said of Costamagna's win. "For our senior to come out there, really get the energy going again, pump herself up and take care of business in straight sets to allow us to get that momentum rolling, that was huge. That made the match for us, for sure."
Next followed Turco, a freshman who's been limited by a knee injury most of the season. Not only did she drop her first set against Melisa Ates, she lost every game. Regardless, the Italian Wildcat dug deep and pulled some motivation from her teammates to bounce back.
"I made a lot of mistakes (in the first set). I didn't know what to do. I was down. I didn't have much energy, but then I went to the bathroom and I kept saying to myself, 'You can do it. Fight for the other girls,'" Turco said. "They were still playing and it was so close, so (I knew) we could win the match. So I just stayed there and tried to make her play more and more balls to make her make some mistakes."
Turco's plan of persistence paid off. She won each the final two sets, 6-2, 6-3, to even the team score up at 3-3.
"It's crazy. It's her second match back since November," Smith said. "We knew it was going to take some time. Obviously the first set showed that, but she stuck with the plan and battled back and won that point for us. That was huge."
From there, it was all on Mesquita.
After a 4-6 loss in the first set, Mesquita regrouped but still found herself in a dangerous situation against Washington State's Barbora Michalkova. The two fought to a tiebreaker in the second set, and Mesquita fell in a 1-3 hole to start the must-win situation.
"Caro and Anna were still playing and (I knew) if I lost the match, we would lose," Mesquita said of her mindset in the tiebreaker. "So I said, 'Just keep playing. Just give it everything and take your time because you can give them a chance win the match. Just keep your head in the game and just take your time.'"
Mesquita won the next six points in a row to win the tiebreaker and force a decisive third set, which would be no less dramatic. Tied at 5-5 in the third set, Mesquita held serve for a one-game lead that brought a surge of excitement to her team, loudly supporting her through every point.
"It was great feeling everybody supporting me," Mesquita said. "They were putting everything in them towards me. It was awesome."
"That's something that we don't take for granted," Smith added of the sideline support. "It's really special, especially from the girls that maybe didn't play so well. One, two and three lost, but yet they came out here on the sideline, they cheered as hard as they could and that really helped us get over the hump and get back in this match."
Mesquita's challenge was far from finished, however. To end the match without another nerve-wracking tiebreaker, she had to break Michalkova's serve, a feat the Cougars' lanky senior made difficult all day. Ultimately, Mesquita found a way to do so to secure the set, 7-5, and clinch the team's second win of the weekend and third in a row.
We think it's safe to say Ines was excited... ????#KStateTEN pic.twitter.com/LDZcqFo49p
— K-State Tennis (@KStateTEN) February 11, 2018
"The three first singles were great. They lost but they gave everything and then they were supporting us on the bench," Mesquita said of Margot Decker, Rosanna Maffei and Maria Linares. "Caro was great and after what Anna did, I said I can't lose because she gave everything she had. I just said, 'I'm going to give it everything. I just have to.' That was it. I gave it everything."
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