Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, January 31
Wichita, Kansas
1:00 PM
Kansas State University
5
at
2
Wichita State
K-State Bounces Back at Wichita State, 5-2, on Friday Afternoon
Jan 31, 2020 | Tennis
WICHITA, Kan. – In an annual showdown between two Kansas programs, the Kansas State women's tennis team turned the tables from a week ago at the ITA Kickoff Weekend with a convincing 5-2 victory over Wichita State at the Wichita Country Club on Friday afternoon.
"This was a very good win," said Head Coach Jordan Smith. "I'm happy we were able to bounce back after last week in North Carolina. Last year we shut them out at home, and we knew this year was going to be a little different at their place and we would need to play really hard to win."
Relinquishing the doubles point from the previous two matches, the Wildcats stepped on the pedal during the final doubles match and took a 1-0 advantage in the last set from junior Maria Linares and sophomore Ioana Gheorghita. Linares and Gheorghita knocked off Wichita State's Sandra Honigova and Marta Bellucco to secure the early point in the match. Honigova and Bellucco came into the match as the No. 53 pairing in the country.
In the No. 3 spot for K-State in doubles competition, senior Ines Mesquita and sophomore Karine-Marion Job both gave the Wildcats an opportunity to clinch the point later as the duo took down Alexandra Lazarova and Ting-Ya Hsu of Wichita State with a 6-3 set win.
Singles play continued in the same direction for the Wildcats as the junior trio of Linares, Anna Turco and Margot Decker all put Wichita State away with decisive victories in the No. 1, 2 and 3 positions.
Turco got K-State started in singles play with a 6-2, 6-4 win from the No. 2 spot over the Shockers' Esther Thebault. Linares, who fought a tiebreaker in the first set of her match, brought home a two-set performance as No. 1 singles player defeated the Shockers' Honigova with a score line of 7-6 (9-7), 6-0.
Decker clinched the deciding point for the Wildcats in the No. 3 spot, sliding by Wichita State's Lingwei Kong with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 victory.
Other notable performances in the win today featured sophomore Rosanna Maffei, who played one set in singles play with the match in no doubt of slipping away from the Wildcats. Maffei posted an 8-0 set victory in the No. 5 spot to grab the final point on the day.
Junior Lilla Barzo made her first appearance in singles competition for K-State at the No. 4 spot. However, Barzo ended her day with a two-set defeat by the Shockers' Bellucco, 4-6, 2-6. Mesquita played one set in her No. 6 matchup to close out the day inside the Wichita Country Club, but fell in her set at a score of 3-8 to Wichita State's Ting-Ya Hsu.
Since 2017, K-State has now compiled a 5-3 record against American Athletic Conference (AAC) opponents with the win today at Wichita State.
The Wildcats now return home to host the Missouri Tigers at the Mike Goss Tennis Stadium on Sunday, February 2.
"Now we have to turn our sights on to Missouri for Sunday," Smith said. "They are a very loud and energetic team, so we know we have to work just as hard and have a complete team effort to pull out a victory on Sunday."
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Tennis on Facebook.
Kansas State at Wichita State
January 31, 2020
Wichita Country Club
Doubles Play
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
No. 1. Thebault/Kong (WSU) def. #54 Turco/Decker 6-4
No. 2. Linares/Gheorghita (KSU) def. #53 Honigova/Bellucco (WSU) 6-1
No. 3. Job/Mesquita (KSU) def. Lazarova/Hsu (WSU) 6-3
Singles Play:
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 5, 6
No. 1. Maria Linares (KSU) def. Sandra Honigova (WSU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-0
No. 2. Anna Turco (KSU) def. Esther Thebault (WSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 3. Margot Decker (KSU) def. Lingwei Kong (WSU) 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
No. 4. Marta Bellucco (WSU) def. Lilla Barzo (KSU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 5. Rosanna Maffei (KSU) def. Alexandra Lazarova (WSU) 8-0
No. 6. Ting-Ya Hsu (WSU) def. Ines Mesquita (KSU) 8-3
"This was a very good win," said Head Coach Jordan Smith. "I'm happy we were able to bounce back after last week in North Carolina. Last year we shut them out at home, and we knew this year was going to be a little different at their place and we would need to play really hard to win."
Relinquishing the doubles point from the previous two matches, the Wildcats stepped on the pedal during the final doubles match and took a 1-0 advantage in the last set from junior Maria Linares and sophomore Ioana Gheorghita. Linares and Gheorghita knocked off Wichita State's Sandra Honigova and Marta Bellucco to secure the early point in the match. Honigova and Bellucco came into the match as the No. 53 pairing in the country.
In the No. 3 spot for K-State in doubles competition, senior Ines Mesquita and sophomore Karine-Marion Job both gave the Wildcats an opportunity to clinch the point later as the duo took down Alexandra Lazarova and Ting-Ya Hsu of Wichita State with a 6-3 set win.
Singles play continued in the same direction for the Wildcats as the junior trio of Linares, Anna Turco and Margot Decker all put Wichita State away with decisive victories in the No. 1, 2 and 3 positions.
Turco got K-State started in singles play with a 6-2, 6-4 win from the No. 2 spot over the Shockers' Esther Thebault. Linares, who fought a tiebreaker in the first set of her match, brought home a two-set performance as No. 1 singles player defeated the Shockers' Honigova with a score line of 7-6 (9-7), 6-0.
Decker clinched the deciding point for the Wildcats in the No. 3 spot, sliding by Wichita State's Lingwei Kong with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 victory.
Other notable performances in the win today featured sophomore Rosanna Maffei, who played one set in singles play with the match in no doubt of slipping away from the Wildcats. Maffei posted an 8-0 set victory in the No. 5 spot to grab the final point on the day.
Junior Lilla Barzo made her first appearance in singles competition for K-State at the No. 4 spot. However, Barzo ended her day with a two-set defeat by the Shockers' Bellucco, 4-6, 2-6. Mesquita played one set in her No. 6 matchup to close out the day inside the Wichita Country Club, but fell in her set at a score of 3-8 to Wichita State's Ting-Ya Hsu.
Since 2017, K-State has now compiled a 5-3 record against American Athletic Conference (AAC) opponents with the win today at Wichita State.
The Wildcats now return home to host the Missouri Tigers at the Mike Goss Tennis Stadium on Sunday, February 2.
"Now we have to turn our sights on to Missouri for Sunday," Smith said. "They are a very loud and energetic team, so we know we have to work just as hard and have a complete team effort to pull out a victory on Sunday."
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Tennis on Facebook.
Kansas State at Wichita State
January 31, 2020
Wichita Country Club
Doubles Play
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
No. 1. Thebault/Kong (WSU) def. #54 Turco/Decker 6-4
No. 2. Linares/Gheorghita (KSU) def. #53 Honigova/Bellucco (WSU) 6-1
No. 3. Job/Mesquita (KSU) def. Lazarova/Hsu (WSU) 6-3
Singles Play:
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 5, 6
No. 1. Maria Linares (KSU) def. Sandra Honigova (WSU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-0
No. 2. Anna Turco (KSU) def. Esther Thebault (WSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 3. Margot Decker (KSU) def. Lingwei Kong (WSU) 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
No. 4. Marta Bellucco (WSU) def. Lilla Barzo (KSU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 5. Rosanna Maffei (KSU) def. Alexandra Lazarova (WSU) 8-0
No. 6. Ting-Ya Hsu (WSU) def. Ines Mesquita (KSU) 8-3
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