Turco, Decker Fall Short of Main Draw Event at ITA All-American Championships

TULSA, Okla. – With a chance to punch a ticket into the main event of the tournament, Kansas State juniors Anna Turco and Margot Decker dropped their lone set in doubles competition in the Qualifying Round at the ITA All-American Championships on Tuesday (October 8) afternoon at the Case Tennis Center.

In a pivotal matchup with DePaul's Lenka Antonijevic and Yuliya Kizelbasheva, Decker and Turco would attempt a comeback late in the set but eventually tailed off as the Blue Demons' pairing pulled away with an 8-4 victory.

Already making history with becoming one of two pairings in school history to compete in the Qualifying Round at the event for the doubles play, Decker and Turco would come up short in rewriting the history books in their attempt to enter the main draw at the prestigious tournament. With a win, the duo would have cemented themselves as the first Wildcat pairing to have ever competed in the main draw event for the tournament.

After knocking off their first two opponents of the Qualifying Round, Decker and Turco would end their run with a 2-1 record with victories against doubles' teams from Wake Forest and Duke.

K-State ends its stint at the ITA-All American Championships with four single wins and three doubles wins.

Head coach Jordan Smith was pleased with all four entries at the ITA All-American Championships, which were the most-ever by a Wildcat team and the second-most by one school.

"It was a good week for us overall," said Smith. "We had multiple solid performances from this group, starting with Maria (Linares) advancing in draws and Anna and Margot getting to the qualifying round of doubles. We followed that up by KJ (Karina-Marion Job) responding great with Maria after a rough singles performance. They took advantage of their opportunities and the results were mostly in their favor. I know how good this team is, so their tennis the last four days should be what they always expect of themselves."

The Wildcats will return to the Sooner State next week, as the team competes in the ITA Regionals event starting Thursday, October 17 in Norman, Oklahoma.

"If we're going to reach our goals and qualify for the NCAA Tournament then we need to have weeks like this one," said Smith. "It has to be the norm for us to be at this stage in national tournaments individually and with the entire team. I expect this to be a motivator through the rest of the fall and moving into the spring team season."

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

Turco, Decker Fall Short of Main Draw Event at ITA All-American Championships

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Players Mentioned

Margot Decker

Anna Turco

Players Mentioned

Margot Decker

Anna Turco

Kansas State University Athletics