SE: K-State Tennis Taking on Fall with Experience, High Expectations
Sep 24, 2019 | Tennis, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Anna Turco had not even thought about it until the question was asked.
What's it's like being an upperclassman on an experienced team?
One of K-State tennis' four juniors, six upperclassmen and eight returners, Turco was caught off guard. Partly, because she's never been an upperclassman. Partly, because she's never been on an experienced team — at least as experienced as this year's squad.
"I didn't even realize we were actually old and we're juniors, honestly," Turco, a native of Mondovi, Italy, said. "It (feels) like it was freshman year yesterday."
Now, it's junior year for Turco, a Second Team All-Big 12 pick last season, Margot Decker, a Second Team All-Big 12 selection in 2018 and Maria Linares, ranked No. 106 in the preseason International Tennis Association rankings. Rosanna Maffei, a redshirt sophomore also in that class, went undefeated in K-State's fall opener last weekend to win the Flight A title in Auburn, Alabama.
"It's our third year," Decker said. "We know how things work, how things go."
K-State seniors Ines Mesquita, with 44 wins under her belt, and Meghan King also know the program well. Even K-State's two sophomores, Karine-Marion Job and Ioana Gheorghita, were regular contributors in the team's lineup last season. Lilla Barzó, the team's lone newcomer, is 23 years old. The Hungarian comes to K-State after three seasons on the WTA and ITF professional circuits, reaching a world ranking of 435 at one point.
The collective experience eased the transition this fall, K-State head coach Jordan Smith said. What typically is a slow process, because of potentially limited training resources in their home countries during the summer, has been much faster this time around.
"The biggest thing I'm really impressed with is that we came back refreshed, we came back motivated and, actually, we came back hitting the ball really well," Smith said. "We've been able to speed up some of our timeline of how we wanted to conduct our practices and move forward and not have to spend too much time on consistency or little fundamental things. We can actually go with more advanced stuff, and that's been great so far. That's a credit to them."
Decker and Turco agreed. This fall, already, has seemed more productive.
"We're a little bit more confident," Decker, from Blodelsheim, France, said. "We know how it works, so there won't be any surprises."
"We started the fall a little bit better than the previous years," Turco added, "probably because we know how it works."
As far as how the fall season goes, K-State's core knows it's a chance to build for the spring.
The tournament-style setup of fall events offers a host of benefits. Players can get more than one match in a day, for instance. Because it's individually based, players can also experiment more in live settings without the pressure of negatively affecting their team.
"I just want them to think about how they're going to solve problems. That's when you can really make some mistakes, learn to grow in your game," Smith said, as some Wildcats will play in the SMU Invitational from Friday to Sunday in Dallas, Texas. "That's the biggest key, problem solving, and just seeing if we can push from last year, learn from our mistakes and see where we can go this year."
The expectation is the NCAA Tournament, which six Wildcats on the roster experienced two years ago.
"For us, it was really important to get (back) into the NCAA (Tournament)," Turco said, adding that missing it last year left a "bitter feeling."
A solid fall could help the team avoid that same feeling this coming spring. Specifically, Turco said the team can take another step forward in doubles play.
Last year, K-State posted a 29-28 doubles record in duals and a 9-11 mark in Big 12 play, improvements from 2017-18 when the Wildcats went 30-35 and 7-16, respectively. The Wildcats ended last season winning the doubles point in four of their final six matches, including against a ranked Texas Tech squad.
"The doubles is going to get better," Turco said. "And that will help us a lot."
"That's going to be the biggest thing," Smith added. "Can we build on it? Can they see what they did last year, and can you make it one step further this year?"
Anna Turco had not even thought about it until the question was asked.
What's it's like being an upperclassman on an experienced team?
One of K-State tennis' four juniors, six upperclassmen and eight returners, Turco was caught off guard. Partly, because she's never been an upperclassman. Partly, because she's never been on an experienced team — at least as experienced as this year's squad.
"I didn't even realize we were actually old and we're juniors, honestly," Turco, a native of Mondovi, Italy, said. "It (feels) like it was freshman year yesterday."
Now, it's junior year for Turco, a Second Team All-Big 12 pick last season, Margot Decker, a Second Team All-Big 12 selection in 2018 and Maria Linares, ranked No. 106 in the preseason International Tennis Association rankings. Rosanna Maffei, a redshirt sophomore also in that class, went undefeated in K-State's fall opener last weekend to win the Flight A title in Auburn, Alabama.
"It's our third year," Decker said. "We know how things work, how things go."
K-State seniors Ines Mesquita, with 44 wins under her belt, and Meghan King also know the program well. Even K-State's two sophomores, Karine-Marion Job and Ioana Gheorghita, were regular contributors in the team's lineup last season. Lilla Barzó, the team's lone newcomer, is 23 years old. The Hungarian comes to K-State after three seasons on the WTA and ITF professional circuits, reaching a world ranking of 435 at one point.
The collective experience eased the transition this fall, K-State head coach Jordan Smith said. What typically is a slow process, because of potentially limited training resources in their home countries during the summer, has been much faster this time around.
"The biggest thing I'm really impressed with is that we came back refreshed, we came back motivated and, actually, we came back hitting the ball really well," Smith said. "We've been able to speed up some of our timeline of how we wanted to conduct our practices and move forward and not have to spend too much time on consistency or little fundamental things. We can actually go with more advanced stuff, and that's been great so far. That's a credit to them."
Decker and Turco agreed. This fall, already, has seemed more productive.
"We're a little bit more confident," Decker, from Blodelsheim, France, said. "We know how it works, so there won't be any surprises."
"We started the fall a little bit better than the previous years," Turco added, "probably because we know how it works."
As far as how the fall season goes, K-State's core knows it's a chance to build for the spring.
The tournament-style setup of fall events offers a host of benefits. Players can get more than one match in a day, for instance. Because it's individually based, players can also experiment more in live settings without the pressure of negatively affecting their team.
"I just want them to think about how they're going to solve problems. That's when you can really make some mistakes, learn to grow in your game," Smith said, as some Wildcats will play in the SMU Invitational from Friday to Sunday in Dallas, Texas. "That's the biggest key, problem solving, and just seeing if we can push from last year, learn from our mistakes and see where we can go this year."
The expectation is the NCAA Tournament, which six Wildcats on the roster experienced two years ago.
"For us, it was really important to get (back) into the NCAA (Tournament)," Turco said, adding that missing it last year left a "bitter feeling."
A solid fall could help the team avoid that same feeling this coming spring. Specifically, Turco said the team can take another step forward in doubles play.
Last year, K-State posted a 29-28 doubles record in duals and a 9-11 mark in Big 12 play, improvements from 2017-18 when the Wildcats went 30-35 and 7-16, respectively. The Wildcats ended last season winning the doubles point in four of their final six matches, including against a ranked Texas Tech squad.
"The doubles is going to get better," Turco said. "And that will help us a lot."
"That's going to be the biggest thing," Smith added. "Can we build on it? Can they see what they did last year, and can you make it one step further this year?"
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