Turco Defeats Nationally-Ranked Opponent on Day One at ASU Invitational
Nov 08, 2019 | Tennis
TEMPE, Ariz. – Junior Anna Turco's three-set victory over No. 26 Chiara Lommer of Michigan highlighted day one action for the Kansas State's women's tennis team at the ASU Invitational at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
A native of Mondovi, Italy, Turco became the second Wildcat in as many years to knock off a top-30 ITA ranked opponent at the ASU Invitational, defeating Lommer in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5. Junior teammate Maria Linares defeated No. 24 Vanessa Wong of Washington on day two of the tournament in 2018. It was also Turco's second consecutive win over a ranked opponent this fall after beating No. 122 Maria Toran Ribes of Kansas, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (8), in the consolation bracket of the ITA Central Regional Championships on October 20.
"Anna (Turco) had a great win in singles today," said head coach Jordan Smith. "Her second consecutive ranked win. She says she is not at her best form at the moment. However, I credit Anna for finding a way to take advantage of these opportunities, while not playing her best. It shows that her fight is always there."
Senior Ines Mesquita, junior Margot Decker and sophomore Karine-Marion Job ended up falling in two sets to opponents from Michigan in singles play. Mesquita fell to Bella Lorenzini, 3-6, 2-6, while Decker could not overcome an early deficit to Nicole Hammond, 2-6, 3-6. Job lost a tight battle in the first set against Anca Craciun before falling 6-7, 2-6, in consecutive sets.
Before the start of singles play, the Wildcats entered with matchups against a pair of Washington duos in the morning session of doubles play. Opening the tournament would be Job and Mesquita, who took the pairing of Katarina Kopcalic and Sedona Gallagher to a final game but fell to a set score of 6-7 (5). Turco and Decker then ran into another Washington pairing in Vanessa Wong and Natsuho Arakawa, falling 1-6.
"We had a tough day out there," said Smith. "We knew it was going to be a challenging day facing two teams that finished ranked top-15 in the country. We started out giving our opponents too much respect before settling into the match. Overall, we have to make positive changes for tomorrow."
The Wildcats remain in Tempe, Arizona for day two of the ASU Thunderbird Invitational as singles and doubles play continues on Saturday.
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Tennis on Facebook.
A native of Mondovi, Italy, Turco became the second Wildcat in as many years to knock off a top-30 ITA ranked opponent at the ASU Invitational, defeating Lommer in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5. Junior teammate Maria Linares defeated No. 24 Vanessa Wong of Washington on day two of the tournament in 2018. It was also Turco's second consecutive win over a ranked opponent this fall after beating No. 122 Maria Toran Ribes of Kansas, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (8), in the consolation bracket of the ITA Central Regional Championships on October 20.
"Anna (Turco) had a great win in singles today," said head coach Jordan Smith. "Her second consecutive ranked win. She says she is not at her best form at the moment. However, I credit Anna for finding a way to take advantage of these opportunities, while not playing her best. It shows that her fight is always there."
Senior Ines Mesquita, junior Margot Decker and sophomore Karine-Marion Job ended up falling in two sets to opponents from Michigan in singles play. Mesquita fell to Bella Lorenzini, 3-6, 2-6, while Decker could not overcome an early deficit to Nicole Hammond, 2-6, 3-6. Job lost a tight battle in the first set against Anca Craciun before falling 6-7, 2-6, in consecutive sets.
Before the start of singles play, the Wildcats entered with matchups against a pair of Washington duos in the morning session of doubles play. Opening the tournament would be Job and Mesquita, who took the pairing of Katarina Kopcalic and Sedona Gallagher to a final game but fell to a set score of 6-7 (5). Turco and Decker then ran into another Washington pairing in Vanessa Wong and Natsuho Arakawa, falling 1-6.
"We had a tough day out there," said Smith. "We knew it was going to be a challenging day facing two teams that finished ranked top-15 in the country. We started out giving our opponents too much respect before settling into the match. Overall, we have to make positive changes for tomorrow."
The Wildcats remain in Tempe, Arizona for day two of the ASU Thunderbird Invitational as singles and doubles play continues on Saturday.
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Tennis on Facebook.
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