SE: Decker, Linares Excited to ‘Keep Building’ for K-State Tennis at Prestigious ITA Women’s All-American Championships
Sep 28, 2018 | Tennis, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Margot Decker and Maria Linares were both selected to play in the ITA Women's All-American Championships this weekend in Pacific Palisades, California. It's just one positive example of how the changes in the K-State tennis program in the last year are also tied to what has stayed the same.
Notable among the latter?
"We're still in the same mindset," Decker said after a practice this week, "that we want to go and beat everybody."
This mindset is now attached to a more experienced K-State team, coming off the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003. Five regulars in the Wildcat lineup return from last year's team, Decker and Linares among them.
K-State also has a new head coach in Jordan Smith. But he's been at K-State since 2015, being promoted to associate head coach last season and selected to lead the program in July. So, while he's brought some changes, Decker said his familiarity with the team has quickly smoothed out any expected bumps in the transition.
"It's not all new," Decker said. "We just want to keep building."
The opportunity to improve doesn't get much better in the fall than the ITA All-American Championships, where the two will play doubles together as well as in the singles bracket.
Decker went last year as a freshman — in much different circumstances, however. It was her first collegiate event ever last time, so going by herself didn't seem odd then. That's what she grew up doing in France.
Now, after a year of tennis in a team format, Decker said "it would be weird" to go to a tournament alone. "But I know I'm going with Maria, so it's going to be fun. I'm excited."
Linares was equally enthusiastic when she found out she would be going with Decker. The pair makes K-State one of four Big 12 schools to have more than one player invited to ITA All-American Championships for singles play this year.
After a freshman season that included being named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year and to the All-Big 12's second team, the Venezuelan said she's eager to test herself early this fall.
"I wanted to go to the tournament because (it has) the best players," she said, "and I think playing against the best will help me improve more and see what I have to work on."
Decker finished 1-1 in the ITA All-American Championships last year. She went on to play No. 1 singles in all but one spring match for K-State, going 9-12 against an onslaught of talented players that included 13 ranked opponents.
All of it was brand new to Decker, who handled it well and joined Linares on the All-Big 12 Freshman and Second Teams. Now, however, Decker entered the fall season ranked No. 111 Oracle/ITA Preseason Poll and with a working knowledge of what lies ahead.
"I know that some girls are tricky to play (against), so I can adjust myself and how I'm going to react. That's helping me. The Big 12 helped me through that," she said. "I want to go further than last year. Now, I know how it is, I know how it works. Now I really want to win more matches than last year. Last year, it was, like, 'I'm just looking around and we'll see what happens.' Now, I really want to be in it."
Linares burst onto the collegiate tennis scene last year. She put together a 20-10 record, bolstered by a 14-7 record in the spring that included a 7-6 mark at the No. 2 spot that she held down the last 13 matches of the season. Her highlight moment was a three-set victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in K-State's 4-3 win against Kentucky.
Like Decker, the season was a lot of figuring things out on the fly. Linares said it served as a blueprint of sorts on ways to improve for this season, one of which was in her conditioning. After opening the fall season last weekend at the Big 5 Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, she noticed a difference on the court already.
"I can feel how I improved my conditioning because before this fall, every time I was playing I needed to rest more. Right now, I feel good," said Linares, who picked up a win over No. 121 Ilze Hattingh of Arizona State to cap a 2-1 start to the fall last weekend. "Right now, I feel like I'm at a good place physically. I have to build on it and keep it going."
Margot Decker and Maria Linares were both selected to play in the ITA Women's All-American Championships this weekend in Pacific Palisades, California. It's just one positive example of how the changes in the K-State tennis program in the last year are also tied to what has stayed the same.
Notable among the latter?
"We're still in the same mindset," Decker said after a practice this week, "that we want to go and beat everybody."
This mindset is now attached to a more experienced K-State team, coming off the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003. Five regulars in the Wildcat lineup return from last year's team, Decker and Linares among them.
K-State also has a new head coach in Jordan Smith. But he's been at K-State since 2015, being promoted to associate head coach last season and selected to lead the program in July. So, while he's brought some changes, Decker said his familiarity with the team has quickly smoothed out any expected bumps in the transition.
"It's not all new," Decker said. "We just want to keep building."
The opportunity to improve doesn't get much better in the fall than the ITA All-American Championships, where the two will play doubles together as well as in the singles bracket.
Decker went last year as a freshman — in much different circumstances, however. It was her first collegiate event ever last time, so going by herself didn't seem odd then. That's what she grew up doing in France.
Now, after a year of tennis in a team format, Decker said "it would be weird" to go to a tournament alone. "But I know I'm going with Maria, so it's going to be fun. I'm excited."
Linares was equally enthusiastic when she found out she would be going with Decker. The pair makes K-State one of four Big 12 schools to have more than one player invited to ITA All-American Championships for singles play this year.
After a freshman season that included being named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year and to the All-Big 12's second team, the Venezuelan said she's eager to test herself early this fall.
"I wanted to go to the tournament because (it has) the best players," she said, "and I think playing against the best will help me improve more and see what I have to work on."
Decker finished 1-1 in the ITA All-American Championships last year. She went on to play No. 1 singles in all but one spring match for K-State, going 9-12 against an onslaught of talented players that included 13 ranked opponents.
All of it was brand new to Decker, who handled it well and joined Linares on the All-Big 12 Freshman and Second Teams. Now, however, Decker entered the fall season ranked No. 111 Oracle/ITA Preseason Poll and with a working knowledge of what lies ahead.
"I know that some girls are tricky to play (against), so I can adjust myself and how I'm going to react. That's helping me. The Big 12 helped me through that," she said. "I want to go further than last year. Now, I know how it is, I know how it works. Now I really want to win more matches than last year. Last year, it was, like, 'I'm just looking around and we'll see what happens.' Now, I really want to be in it."
Linares burst onto the collegiate tennis scene last year. She put together a 20-10 record, bolstered by a 14-7 record in the spring that included a 7-6 mark at the No. 2 spot that she held down the last 13 matches of the season. Her highlight moment was a three-set victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in K-State's 4-3 win against Kentucky.
Like Decker, the season was a lot of figuring things out on the fly. Linares said it served as a blueprint of sorts on ways to improve for this season, one of which was in her conditioning. After opening the fall season last weekend at the Big 5 Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, she noticed a difference on the court already.
"I can feel how I improved my conditioning because before this fall, every time I was playing I needed to rest more. Right now, I feel good," said Linares, who picked up a win over No. 121 Ilze Hattingh of Arizona State to cap a 2-1 start to the fall last weekend. "Right now, I feel like I'm at a good place physically. I have to build on it and keep it going."
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