Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
Rice
Cats, Owls Set to Battle in Houston Sunday
Feb 08, 2019 | Tennis
MANHATTAN, Kan.?– K-State travels to Houston, Texas, for its fourth straight match away from home, as the Wildcats are prepped to take on the Rice Owls Sunday at 11 a.m. CT at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
The Owls (3-2) enter this challenge after shutting out Big 12 foe TCU 6-0 on Wednesday. K-State (3-1) will be the third Big 12 team Rice has faced this season after dropping a 4-3 decision at Baylor in January. The Wildcats are 0-2 all-time against Rice.
Rice is led by Michaela Haet who boasts a No. 74 singles ranking. Teammates Priva Niezgoda and Anastasia Smirnova are currently ranked 35th in doubles, while Anna Bowtell and Victoria Smirnova are tied at No. 51.
The Wildcats are also coming off a victory after knocking off the Nebraska Cornhuskers 4-1. The Cats picked up their first win against the Huskers since 2009, and last Friday's win improved the team's overall singles record to 13-7 and pushed the doubles mark up to 6-5.
Sophomore Margot Decker played at the No. 1 spot in singles for the second straight week, and defeated Vasanti Shinde, 6-2, 6-3. Decker, along with junior Ines Mesquita, lead the Cats with identical 3-1 singles records this season.
K-State picked up the doubles point against the Cornhuskers after wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles. Decker and sophomore Anna Turco knocked off Shinde and Marina Cozac 6-4 at the top spot. Decker and Turco have a team-best record of 3-1.
Sophomore Maria Linares and Mesquita, who are 2-1 when paired together, defeated Hayley Haakenstad and Jeannie Lozowski 6-1 to help secure the doubles point for the second time this season.
Freshman Karine-Marion Job collected her second win of the year at Nebraska, improving to 2-1. Turco is also 2-1 this season while Linares is 2-2.
Players Mentioned
