K-State Puts Away Penn State, 5-0, in Season Opener on Monday

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Combining talent and experience together for their first home match of the season, the Kansas State women's tennis team delivered a commanding 5-0 win against Penn State earlier today (January 20) at the Body First Tennis Center. After winning the doubles point, four-straight singles victories by juniors Maria Linares, Margot Decker, Anna Turco and sophomore Rosanna Maffei capped K-State's sweep of the Nittany Lions.

"I thought it went well," said Head Coach Jordan Smith. "That is a little bit different for us to start the year to play a quality opponent such as Penn State, who came off an epic win over Iowa State the day before. For us to come out there and get a doubles point and then take care of business with wins in the No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 for singles, I thought that was very good from us. We just looked good. I told the girls before the match that all the training we did in the fall and our training week in Orlando, that all pays off starting today. All our team goals and individual goals, that starts today too. I was really impressed on how well we came as a team to be back in a team atmosphere after seven months. It was really good."

Starting off in doubles play, a key turning point in the match came from the No. 1 spot as Decker and Turco sparked the Wildcats as the pairing came from behind to give the Wildcats the doubles point after senior Ines Mesquita and sophomore Karine-Marion Job knocked off Penn State's Frederikke Svarre and Olivia Ryan with a set score of 6-4. Decker and Turco, who were down 3-4 late in the doubles set, pulled off three straight games to take the first set victory of the day, 6-4. The pairing came into the match ranked No. 54 in the nation by the ITA.

K-State used that momentum from doubles play to perform the sweep in singles competition, starting with the junior trio of Linares, Decker and Turco, who all defeated their matchups in two sets. Decker eased herself to a dominant two-set victory over the Nittany Lions' Olivia Rohrbacher, 6-0, 6-2.

"I think we knew they are a good team, so it was really important for us to start good for the season, especially since we knew this weekend was going to be harder," said Decker. "I think we did a really good job in singles and doubles."

Turco finished just after Decker's win with swift victory in a two-set performance over Penn State's Svarre, 6-3, 6-3. In the No. 1 spot for the Wildcats, Linares posted a 6-4, 6-3 win after trailing in her first set against Nittany Lions' Gabby O'Gorman.

Maffei kept the train rolling from the No. 4 spot for K-State, as she took down the Nittany Lions' Olivia Ryan to notch the fifth and final point of the day.

Getting some court time from the No. 5 and 6 positions, both the matches Mesquita and sophomore Ioana Gheorghita went unfinished as Mesquita held her opponent to a score of 6-4, 3-0, while Gheorghita competed into a second set with a score line of 3-6, 2-3, to end the day for the Wildcats.

In reference to starting off the season strong at Body First Tennis Center, K-State has now won its last three home openers with defeats over Kansas City in 2018 and South Dakota in 2019 to scores of 7-0.

With the completion of the 2020 home opener, K-State will now travel to Durham, N.C. for a matchup with Duke and the start of ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday, January 25 at the Sheffield Tennis Center.

"I know there are some things that we want to keep improving on and shrink a little bit more of our weaknesses," said Smith. "Right now, our starting point is trying to find our 'A' game, trying to establish that a little bit more. A lot of times, it is positioning, getting used to the pace of the ball. I think maintaining our energy over a lengthier part of time is going to be key. You do not see that often when you are in a fall tournament. I think we are at a good base but we want to keep trying to peak and I think the biggest thing is trying to find our 'A' game and not trying to settle and wait on our opponents to see what they do."

2020 Home Opener
January 20, 2020
Body First Tennis Center

Doubles Play
Order of Finish: 1, 3

No. 1. #54 Turco/Decker (KSU) def. Gorman/Rohrbacher (PSU), 6-4
No. 2. Linares/Gheorghita (KSU) vs. Hanley/Smith (PSU), Unfinished
No. 3. Mesquita/Job (KSU) def. Svarre/Ryan (PSU), 6-4

Singles Play:
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1, 4

No. 1. Maria Linares (KSU) def. Gabby O'Gorman (PSU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 2. Anna Turco (KSU) def. Frederikke Svarre (PSU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 3. Margot Decker (KSU) def. Olivia Rohrbacher (PSU), 6-0, 6-2
No. 4. Rosanna Maffei (KSU) def. Olivia Ryan (PSU), 6-2, 6-0
No. 5. Ines Mesquita (KSU) vs. Shannon Hanley (PSU) 6-4, 3-0, Unfinished
No. 6. Ioana Gheorghita (KSU) vs. Samantha Smith (PSU) 3-6, 2-3, Unfinished

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

K-State Puts Away Penn State, 5-0, in Season Opener on Monday

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Players Mentioned

Margot Decker

Ioana Gheorghita

Karine-Marion Job

Maria Linares

Rosanna Maffei

Ines Mesquita

Anna Turco