Saturday, January 19
Manhattan
1 p.m.
Kansas State University
vs
South Dakota
Cats Kick Off Spring Season Saturday Against Coyotes
Jan 18, 2019 | Tennis
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State women's tennis team opens its 2019 spring dual season against the South Dakota Coyotes at Body First Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday at 1 p.m., with free admission for all fans.
K-State, under first-year head coach Jordan Smith, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago – its first postseason bid since the 2003 season – after an opening-round 4-3 victory over No. 26 Kentucky.
The Wildcats produced a record of 15-11 (4-5 Big 12) last season, equaling the second-highest spring win total in program history with a fifth-place finish in the Big 12.
The Wildcats spent the majority of the 2018 season ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) rankings, reaching as high as No. 28 in the polls while collected four victories over nationally ranked foes.
The Cats' young roster features four sophomores, three freshmen and a junior – including All-Big 12 performers Margot Decker and Maria Linares.
Linares, who primarily played at the No. 2 singles spot her freshman season, was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year. Her regional honor was just the third in school history and the program's first since 2011. The Venezuela product also earned spots on the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Freshman Team after she boasted a team-high 14 singles wins last season.
Decker held down the Cats' No. 1 singles position and was voted onto the Big 12's All-Freshman Team and All-Big 12 Second Team in both singles and doubles.
The lone upperclassman, junior Ines Mesquita ended 2018 on a five-match winning streak that upped her singles dual mark to 12-4 (3-0 Big 12). The Lourinha, Portugal, native tallied six wins from both the fifth and sixth singles positions while earning a team-best 12 doubles victories in her sophomore season.
Decker and Linares, along with sophomores Rosanna Maffei and Anna Turco, helped make up a recruiting class that entered 2018 as the 14th-best in the country, according to TennisRecruiting.net.
Maffei boasted a 16-10 mark in her initial campaign, including an 11-8 mark in the spring dual season in which she played from the Nos. 2-4 spots. Turco finished 10-8 in her inaugural season, with five victories coming from the fifth singles position.
K-State welcomes freshmen Ioana Gheorghita, Karine-Marion Job and Maria Ponomareva. Gheorghita and Ponomareva competed in the fall season while Job enters her first semester as a Wildcat.
South Dakota returns five letterwinners from last seasons' squad that finished second in The Summit League Tournament. The Yotes were voted second in The Summit League's preseason coaches' poll which was released Wednesday.
K-State swept USD, 7-0, in the team's only previous meeting in 2017 in Manhattan.
Fans can follow live stats at K-StateSports.com with live updates on the team's official Twitter page @KStateTEN.
K-State, under first-year head coach Jordan Smith, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago – its first postseason bid since the 2003 season – after an opening-round 4-3 victory over No. 26 Kentucky.
The Wildcats produced a record of 15-11 (4-5 Big 12) last season, equaling the second-highest spring win total in program history with a fifth-place finish in the Big 12.
The Wildcats spent the majority of the 2018 season ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) rankings, reaching as high as No. 28 in the polls while collected four victories over nationally ranked foes.
The Cats' young roster features four sophomores, three freshmen and a junior – including All-Big 12 performers Margot Decker and Maria Linares.
Linares, who primarily played at the No. 2 singles spot her freshman season, was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year. Her regional honor was just the third in school history and the program's first since 2011. The Venezuela product also earned spots on the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Freshman Team after she boasted a team-high 14 singles wins last season.
Decker held down the Cats' No. 1 singles position and was voted onto the Big 12's All-Freshman Team and All-Big 12 Second Team in both singles and doubles.
The lone upperclassman, junior Ines Mesquita ended 2018 on a five-match winning streak that upped her singles dual mark to 12-4 (3-0 Big 12). The Lourinha, Portugal, native tallied six wins from both the fifth and sixth singles positions while earning a team-best 12 doubles victories in her sophomore season.
Decker and Linares, along with sophomores Rosanna Maffei and Anna Turco, helped make up a recruiting class that entered 2018 as the 14th-best in the country, according to TennisRecruiting.net.
Maffei boasted a 16-10 mark in her initial campaign, including an 11-8 mark in the spring dual season in which she played from the Nos. 2-4 spots. Turco finished 10-8 in her inaugural season, with five victories coming from the fifth singles position.
K-State welcomes freshmen Ioana Gheorghita, Karine-Marion Job and Maria Ponomareva. Gheorghita and Ponomareva competed in the fall season while Job enters her first semester as a Wildcat.
South Dakota returns five letterwinners from last seasons' squad that finished second in The Summit League Tournament. The Yotes were voted second in The Summit League's preseason coaches' poll which was released Wednesday.
K-State swept USD, 7-0, in the team's only previous meeting in 2017 in Manhattan.
Fans can follow live stats at K-StateSports.com with live updates on the team's official Twitter page @KStateTEN.
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