Kansas State University Athletics
Sunday, February 18
Boulder, Colo.
12 p.m.
Kansas State University
4
at
1
Colorado
Decker Tops Ranked Opponent, Cats Beat Colorado
Feb 18, 2018 | Tennis
K-State wins fourth straight match
BOULDER, Colo. – For the second straight match, K-State women's tennis handed an undefeated team its first loss of the spring season, notching its fourth straight team victory on Sunday over Colorado, 4-1, at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center.
"Playing at Colorado is always tough because of the altitude and the court conditions, so I am proud of the team for stepping up after doubles and playing tough even when it was uncomfortable," head coach Danielle Steinberg said after the match.
K-State (5-1) improves to 15-25 against the Buffs, picking up its seventh win in Boulder against its former conference foe. The Cats win was highlighted by a three-set ranked win from freshman Margot Decker at the No. 1 singles position.
"Margot played with so much courage and grit today," Steinberg added. "I am proud of her for coming through in this match. She played an excellent opponent and got into uncomfortable situations several times during the match, but she dug deep and kept believing in herself and it paid off."
Decker defeated the nation's 106th-ranked singles player, Linda Huang, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, pushing the match to a 3-1 score. Decker is now 2-2 this spring against ranked opponents and 3-3 overall in singles play.
Sophomore Ines Mesquita sealed the 4-1 victory over the Buffaloes with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Brigitte Beck. The sophomore has now sealed back-to-back matches for the Wildcats, keeping her spring singles record unscathed (5-0), and moving to 15-3 in her second-year campaign.
Freshman Rosanna Maffei knotted the match a 1-1, picking up her fourth win of the spring season at the No. 2 spot over Chloe Hule of Colorado, 6-3, 6-4. The Italian product is now 4-2 this season.
The Cats took a 2-1 lead with a straight-set win from freshman Maria Linares over Colorado's Jeannez Daniel, 7-6, 6-0. The native of Venezuela is 5-1 this season in singles play.
Colorado (5-1) saw its historic start to its spring season come to an end. The Buffs had won their first five matches for just the third time in school history. Colorado took an early 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point, finishing 2-1 against K-State's doubles tandems.
K-State won its first doubles match from the No. 1 tandem of Decker and senior Carolina Costamagna over Louise Ronaldson and Jeannez Daniel of Colorado, 6-3. The duo has now improved to 4-1 this spring season.
The Buffs nabbed the next two doubles matches to secure the point. Chloe Hule and Brigitte Beck overtook the Cats' No. 2 Linares and Mesquita, 2-6. The tandem, who started 4-0, has lost two matches in a row. Freshman No. 3 Anna Turco and Maffei were outlasted by Colorado's Linda Huang and Kyra Wojcik, 4-6. The pairing drops its first match of the spring season.
"We came out flat in Nos. 2 and 3 doubles and we cannot afford to do that again," Steinberg said. "The doubles point is going to be crucial for us this year, so we simply need to do better than we did today. I am happy we were able to bounce back and get the energy back up before singles."
The Cats will head home to play a doubleheader against Nebraska at 10:30 a.m., and Akron at 4 p.m. at Body First Indoor Tennis Center on Friday, February 23. Fans can follow live statistics on www.kstatesports.com or follow results through the official Twitter page of K-State tennis, @KStateTEN.
"Playing at Colorado is always tough because of the altitude and the court conditions, so I am proud of the team for stepping up after doubles and playing tough even when it was uncomfortable," head coach Danielle Steinberg said after the match.
K-State (5-1) improves to 15-25 against the Buffs, picking up its seventh win in Boulder against its former conference foe. The Cats win was highlighted by a three-set ranked win from freshman Margot Decker at the No. 1 singles position.
"Margot played with so much courage and grit today," Steinberg added. "I am proud of her for coming through in this match. She played an excellent opponent and got into uncomfortable situations several times during the match, but she dug deep and kept believing in herself and it paid off."
Decker defeated the nation's 106th-ranked singles player, Linda Huang, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, pushing the match to a 3-1 score. Decker is now 2-2 this spring against ranked opponents and 3-3 overall in singles play.
Sophomore Ines Mesquita sealed the 4-1 victory over the Buffaloes with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Brigitte Beck. The sophomore has now sealed back-to-back matches for the Wildcats, keeping her spring singles record unscathed (5-0), and moving to 15-3 in her second-year campaign.
Freshman Rosanna Maffei knotted the match a 1-1, picking up her fourth win of the spring season at the No. 2 spot over Chloe Hule of Colorado, 6-3, 6-4. The Italian product is now 4-2 this season.
The Cats took a 2-1 lead with a straight-set win from freshman Maria Linares over Colorado's Jeannez Daniel, 7-6, 6-0. The native of Venezuela is 5-1 this season in singles play.
Colorado (5-1) saw its historic start to its spring season come to an end. The Buffs had won their first five matches for just the third time in school history. Colorado took an early 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point, finishing 2-1 against K-State's doubles tandems.
K-State won its first doubles match from the No. 1 tandem of Decker and senior Carolina Costamagna over Louise Ronaldson and Jeannez Daniel of Colorado, 6-3. The duo has now improved to 4-1 this spring season.
The Buffs nabbed the next two doubles matches to secure the point. Chloe Hule and Brigitte Beck overtook the Cats' No. 2 Linares and Mesquita, 2-6. The tandem, who started 4-0, has lost two matches in a row. Freshman No. 3 Anna Turco and Maffei were outlasted by Colorado's Linda Huang and Kyra Wojcik, 4-6. The pairing drops its first match of the spring season.
"We came out flat in Nos. 2 and 3 doubles and we cannot afford to do that again," Steinberg said. "The doubles point is going to be crucial for us this year, so we simply need to do better than we did today. I am happy we were able to bounce back and get the energy back up before singles."
The Cats will head home to play a doubleheader against Nebraska at 10:30 a.m., and Akron at 4 p.m. at Body First Indoor Tennis Center on Friday, February 23. Fans can follow live statistics on www.kstatesports.com or follow results through the official Twitter page of K-State tennis, @KStateTEN.
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