K-State Ends ITA Regionals Championship in the Round of 16

NORMAN, Okla. – Kansas State saw its run in the ITA Central Regional Championships end on Sunday (October 20), as juniors Maria Linares and Margot Decker and sophomore Rosanna Maffei all fell in the Round of 16 to nationally-ranked opponents at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

"Those three really gave it their all out there today," said Head Coach Jordan Smith. "Even though we came up short in those matches. We did a great job playing our brand of tennis, including fighting back each time they got down. They never beat themselves. As a coach that's all you can ask for. The other players did a strong job in the consolation bracket this morning. We got three victories against some good players from Kansas and Iowa. It's never easy to come back out after losing some tough matches the day before. I'm happy to see them regroup and get some wins."

Maffei began the day facing off against nationally-ranked Oleksandra Korashvili of Oklahoma, battling before losing in two sets, 5-7, 3-6. Korashvili currently has the third-highest ranking of any Big 12 singles player at No. 21 in the preseason Oracle/ITA rankings, which were released in mid-September.

Linares looked to extend her winning ways in a matchup with another nationally-ranked Oklahoma player in Martina Capurro in her Round of 16 match. After claiming the first set against the No. 82 rated Capurro, Linares would end up dropping the second and thirds sets, falling to score lines of 6-2, 2-6, 6-7 (1).

Decker, who entered the Round of 16 at the ITA Central Regional Championship for the third straight year, took on No. 119 rated Sonia Smagina of Kansas in her third match of the tournament. After starting off strong with first-set victory, Decker would slip in the final two sets to fall by scores of 6-3, 2-6, 2-6.

In the singles' consolation round, three Wildcats earned victories highlighted by junior Anna Turco's three-set thriller against No. 122 rated Maria Toran Ribes of Kansas, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (8). Also winning were sophomore Karine-Marion Job, who pulled out a two-set victory against Luniuksa Delgado of Kansas, 6-3, 6-2, and senior Ines Mesquita, who won in straight sets over Iowa's Michelle Bacalla, 6-1, 6-4.

Sophomore Ioana Gheorghita lost in straight sets to Iowa's Ashleigh Jacobs, 4-6, 6-0.

K-State concluded the ITA Central Regional Championships with 13 wins in singles play.

"Overall, we looked very well throughout the tournament," said Smith. "I'm extremely proud of our fight. Our goal isn't to be peaking now, but I like where our tennis is right now. It shows that we can get even better before the spring season. Now we have a nice break from traveling for a bit before we finish out our fall season next month in Arizona."

The Wildcats will now head back home for a few weeks before hitting the road for the ASU Invitational in Tempe, Arizona on November 8-10.

For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Tennis on Facebook.

K-State Ends ITA Regionals Championship in the Round of 16

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Players Mentioned

Margot Decker

Ioana Gheorghita

Karine-Marion Job

Maria Linares

Rosanna Maffei

Ines Mesquita

Anna Turco