Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
Washington State
K-State's Winning Streak Snapped by 31st-Ranked Cougars
Feb 28, 2019 | Tennis
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Freshmen Karine-Marion Job and Maria Ponomareva each picked up singles victories, but K-State's four-match winning streak was snapped by No. 31 Washington State, 4-2, at Body First Indoor Tennis Center Thursday.
"We knew that it was going to be a battle," head coach Jordan Smith said. "They've had a very good season and it's always a battle when we play them. It's our fourth year in a row. Last year when we played them, we played them here and it came down to the last minute. We knew it wouldn't be anything different."
Ponomareva picked up her first ranked win of the season, as she upended No. 105 Melisa Ates, 6-0, 7-5, for her fourth win overall this spring.
Job's straight-set win (6-4, 6-2) over Hikaru Sato from the No. 3 spot marked her seventh straight singles victory and improved her team-best singles record to 8-1.
The Wildcats (7-3) lost the doubles point to the Cougars (11-2) after Washington State's Tiffany Mylonas and Sato defeated the sophomore duo of Margot Decker and Anna Turco, 6-4. The freshman tandem of Ponomareva and Ioana Gheorghita lost to Aneta Miksovska and Jovana Knezevic, 6-4.
Job and junior Ines Mesquita competed against Yang Lee and Melisa Ates before going unfinished, 6-5.
"(In doubles) we went away from what was working," Smith said. "We talk about it all the time. We know good teams are not going to go away, they're not going to just give it to us. They're going to make us earn it and how we handle that situation is going to be the difference in winning and losing the doubles point."
Decker claimed the opening set against No. 35 Michaela Bayerlova, but lost in a third set, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6, at the top spot in the lineup.
From the No. 2 position, sophomore Maria Linares lost to Mylonas, 6-3, 6-2., while Turco lost after a three-set battle to Savanna Ly-Nguyen, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
Gheorghita came in at the No. 6 position against Aneta Miksovska, and went unfinished, 7-5, 2-3.
On Saturday, the Wildcats will host a doubleheader and go against Iowa at 11:30 a.m. and then UMKC later that day. Admission to all home matches is free and fans can follow live stats on K-StateSports.com with live updates on the team's Twitter page @KStateTEN.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1,5,4
Players Mentioned
