Linares Advances in Pre-Qualifying Round at ITA All-American Championships
Oct 05, 2019 | Tennis
TULSA, Oklahoma. – The Kansas State women's tennis team notched three wins in singles play at the ITA All-American Championships on Saturday (October 5) at the LaFortune Tennis Center.
Junior player Maria Linares secured two victories for the Wildcats and will advance to the semifinal portion of the Pre-Qualifying Round this weekend.
In her first match with Yale's Caroline Dunleavy, Linares would bounce back after losing the second set of the match to claim victory with a score line of 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Her second match featured Lauren Alter of Arkansas, which resulted in another three-set comeback victory, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
Linares is the first K-State player to advance to the semifinals portion of the Pre-Qualifying Round in the ITA All-American Championships since the tournament's start back in 2008.
"Maria did a great job of keeping herself alive in singles today", said Head Coach Jordan Smith. "She didn't play her best this morning but found a way to get out of her funk before the second match. We've been talking a lot about problem solving this semester, which she did plenty of today trying to battle the nerves from playing her first tournament of the year along with playing quality opponents in back-to-back matches. This is not a tournament where you have a lot of room to breathe in or have a free pass. I give Maria a lot of credit for making a vast improvement between matches."
Junior Anna Turco would win her first match of the day, as the Mondovi, Italy native went head-to-head with Hawaii's Nikola Dolakova and defeated her in two sets, 6-4, 6-3.
Sophomore Karine-Marion Job and junior Margot Decker both fell to their quarterfinal opponents at the beginning of the day. Job, who took on Texas A&M's Tatiana Makarova, went toe-to-toe with the Aggie but came up short in two sets, 2-6, 0-6. Decker fought hard to extend her match to a third set but could not stave off Ole Miss' Anna Vrbenska, who won with a score of 6-1, 7-5.
By competing with four players this weekend, the Wildcats have set a program best for participants at the ITA All-American Championships.
The Wildcats remain in Tulsa, Oklahoma for day two of the ITA All-American Championships on Sunday, October 6 as doubles play begins.
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Tennis on Facebook.
Junior player Maria Linares secured two victories for the Wildcats and will advance to the semifinal portion of the Pre-Qualifying Round this weekend.
In her first match with Yale's Caroline Dunleavy, Linares would bounce back after losing the second set of the match to claim victory with a score line of 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Her second match featured Lauren Alter of Arkansas, which resulted in another three-set comeback victory, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
Linares is the first K-State player to advance to the semifinals portion of the Pre-Qualifying Round in the ITA All-American Championships since the tournament's start back in 2008.
"Maria did a great job of keeping herself alive in singles today", said Head Coach Jordan Smith. "She didn't play her best this morning but found a way to get out of her funk before the second match. We've been talking a lot about problem solving this semester, which she did plenty of today trying to battle the nerves from playing her first tournament of the year along with playing quality opponents in back-to-back matches. This is not a tournament where you have a lot of room to breathe in or have a free pass. I give Maria a lot of credit for making a vast improvement between matches."
Junior Anna Turco would win her first match of the day, as the Mondovi, Italy native went head-to-head with Hawaii's Nikola Dolakova and defeated her in two sets, 6-4, 6-3.
Sophomore Karine-Marion Job and junior Margot Decker both fell to their quarterfinal opponents at the beginning of the day. Job, who took on Texas A&M's Tatiana Makarova, went toe-to-toe with the Aggie but came up short in two sets, 2-6, 0-6. Decker fought hard to extend her match to a third set but could not stave off Ole Miss' Anna Vrbenska, who won with a score of 6-1, 7-5.
By competing with four players this weekend, the Wildcats have set a program best for participants at the ITA All-American Championships.
The Wildcats remain in Tulsa, Oklahoma for day two of the ITA All-American Championships on Sunday, October 6 as doubles play begins.
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Tennis on Facebook.
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