Wildcats Open K-State Fall Invite with Five Singles Victories
Oct 30, 2020 | Tennis
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kicking off the first home tournament in over seven years, the Kansas State women's tennis team scooped up five singles victories to highlight day one of the K-State Fall Invite at the Mike Goss Tennis Stadium.
For the second time this season, K-State competed against conference foes Kansas and Iowa State, as all three teams recently went head-to-head at the Kansas Invitational back on October 2-4 in Lawrence, Kansas.
"Certainly, great for the ladies to get to play in front of the home crowd today," said head coach Jordan Smith. "We appreciate the support from the local community. It really gives our players a boost and we look forward to welcoming more of them over the weekend."
Before the Wildcats got to showcase their talents in the singles portion of the tournament, K-State scrapped its way to four victories in doubles' play, which featured a pair of dominant performances from junior tandem Maria Linares and Karine-Marion Job. Job and Linares first blew by Kansas' Julia Deming and Vasiliki Karvouni with a perfect set victory at 6-0 followed by a 6-3 win over Iowa State's Maty Cancini and Christin Hsieh.
Those two victories now improve Job and Linares doubles' record to 5-0 during fall play.
The combination of Rosanna Maffei and Manami Ukita notched the third win in doubles play, as the duo had to earn a seventh point in order to take down the Cyclones' Ellie Murphy and Ting-Pei Chang, 7-5. The junior pairing of Ioana Gheorghita and Anna Turco grabbed the fourth doubles' win, 6-3 over Kansas' Deming and Karvouni.
"We were a little slow out of the gates in a couple of spots in the first round of doubles today," Smith stated. "We regrouped well and settled into our tennis nicely for the second round and we were pretty pleased with our overall singles play too."
The Wildcats maintained their momentum in singles play, which resulted in five victories in the opening round of the K-State Fall Invite.
Linares would open the singles' competition with a decisive two-set victory over the Cyclones' Christin Hsieh, 6-4, 6-2. Maffei followed with a straight set win over Iowa State's Ting-Pei Chang, 6-1, 6-2 to remain unbeaten during the fall season.
The other three victories came from the lineup of Ukita, Gheorghita and senior Margot Decker.
Decker got herself into the win column for the first time this fall season, as she fought off a tough first set against Kansas' Julia Deming before winning in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
Ukita, who impressed in her debut at the Kansas Invitational with a 3-1 mark in singles play, rolled to another win against the Jayhawks' Vasiliki Karvouni, 6-1, 6-2.
Gheorghita captured the final win of the day with a hard fought, three-set victory over Iowa State's Chie Kezuka, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.
Job and Turco both fell short in their singles matches on Friday. In a back-and-forth match with the Cyclones' Murphy, Turco could not close the gap in either of her two sets, resulting in a 4-6, 5-7 loss. Job attempted a late comeback in her match with Iowa State's Maty Cancini but was downed by the Cyclone, 1-6, 5-7.
K-State will begin day two of the K-State Fall Invite tomorrow, Saturday, October 31, at 10:30 a.m., CT, at the Mike Goss Tennis Stadium.
"Tomorrow, our focus will be on having a complete two-round performance in doubles," said Smith.
K-State Fall Invite
Mike Goss Tennis Stadium
October 30, 2020
Doubles Play
Maria Linares/Karine-Marion Job (KSU) def. Vasiliki Karvouni/Julia Deming (KU), 6-0
Ting-Pei Chang/Ellie Murphy (ISU) def. Margot Decker/Anna Turco (KSU), 6-3
Maty Cancini/Christen Hsieh (ISU) def. Manami Ukita/Ioana Gheorghita (KSU), 6-3
Maria Linares/Karine-Marion Job (KSU) def. Maty Cancini/Christen Hsieh (ISU), 6-3
Ioana Gheorghita/Anna Turco (KSU) def. Julia Deming/Vasiliki Karvouni (KU), 6-3
Rosanna Maffei/Manami Ukita (KSU) def. Ellie Murphy/Ting-Pei Chang (ISU), 7-5
Singles Play
Maria Linares (KSU) def. Christen Hsieh (ISU), 6-4, 6-2
Rosanna Maffei (KSU) def. Ting-Pei Chang (ISU), 6-1, 6-2
Maty Cancini (ISU) def. Karine-Marion Job (KSU), 6-1, 7-5
Ellie Murphy (ISU) def. Anna Turco (KSU), 6-4, 7-5
Margot Decker (KSU) def. Julia Deming (KU), 7-5, 6-4
Manami Ukita (KSU) def. Vasiliki Karvouni (KU), 6-1, 6-2
Ioana Gheorghita (KSU) def. Chie Kezuka (ISU), 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or K-State Women's Tennis on Facebook.
For the second time this season, K-State competed against conference foes Kansas and Iowa State, as all three teams recently went head-to-head at the Kansas Invitational back on October 2-4 in Lawrence, Kansas.
"Certainly, great for the ladies to get to play in front of the home crowd today," said head coach Jordan Smith. "We appreciate the support from the local community. It really gives our players a boost and we look forward to welcoming more of them over the weekend."
Before the Wildcats got to showcase their talents in the singles portion of the tournament, K-State scrapped its way to four victories in doubles' play, which featured a pair of dominant performances from junior tandem Maria Linares and Karine-Marion Job. Job and Linares first blew by Kansas' Julia Deming and Vasiliki Karvouni with a perfect set victory at 6-0 followed by a 6-3 win over Iowa State's Maty Cancini and Christin Hsieh.
Those two victories now improve Job and Linares doubles' record to 5-0 during fall play.
The combination of Rosanna Maffei and Manami Ukita notched the third win in doubles play, as the duo had to earn a seventh point in order to take down the Cyclones' Ellie Murphy and Ting-Pei Chang, 7-5. The junior pairing of Ioana Gheorghita and Anna Turco grabbed the fourth doubles' win, 6-3 over Kansas' Deming and Karvouni.
"We were a little slow out of the gates in a couple of spots in the first round of doubles today," Smith stated. "We regrouped well and settled into our tennis nicely for the second round and we were pretty pleased with our overall singles play too."
The Wildcats maintained their momentum in singles play, which resulted in five victories in the opening round of the K-State Fall Invite.
Linares would open the singles' competition with a decisive two-set victory over the Cyclones' Christin Hsieh, 6-4, 6-2. Maffei followed with a straight set win over Iowa State's Ting-Pei Chang, 6-1, 6-2 to remain unbeaten during the fall season.
The other three victories came from the lineup of Ukita, Gheorghita and senior Margot Decker.
Decker got herself into the win column for the first time this fall season, as she fought off a tough first set against Kansas' Julia Deming before winning in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
Ukita, who impressed in her debut at the Kansas Invitational with a 3-1 mark in singles play, rolled to another win against the Jayhawks' Vasiliki Karvouni, 6-1, 6-2.
Gheorghita captured the final win of the day with a hard fought, three-set victory over Iowa State's Chie Kezuka, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.
Job and Turco both fell short in their singles matches on Friday. In a back-and-forth match with the Cyclones' Murphy, Turco could not close the gap in either of her two sets, resulting in a 4-6, 5-7 loss. Job attempted a late comeback in her match with Iowa State's Maty Cancini but was downed by the Cyclone, 1-6, 5-7.
K-State will begin day two of the K-State Fall Invite tomorrow, Saturday, October 31, at 10:30 a.m., CT, at the Mike Goss Tennis Stadium.
"Tomorrow, our focus will be on having a complete two-round performance in doubles," said Smith.
K-State Fall Invite
Mike Goss Tennis Stadium
October 30, 2020
Doubles Play
Maria Linares/Karine-Marion Job (KSU) def. Vasiliki Karvouni/Julia Deming (KU), 6-0
Ting-Pei Chang/Ellie Murphy (ISU) def. Margot Decker/Anna Turco (KSU), 6-3
Maty Cancini/Christen Hsieh (ISU) def. Manami Ukita/Ioana Gheorghita (KSU), 6-3
Maria Linares/Karine-Marion Job (KSU) def. Maty Cancini/Christen Hsieh (ISU), 6-3
Ioana Gheorghita/Anna Turco (KSU) def. Julia Deming/Vasiliki Karvouni (KU), 6-3
Rosanna Maffei/Manami Ukita (KSU) def. Ellie Murphy/Ting-Pei Chang (ISU), 7-5
Singles Play
Maria Linares (KSU) def. Christen Hsieh (ISU), 6-4, 6-2
Rosanna Maffei (KSU) def. Ting-Pei Chang (ISU), 6-1, 6-2
Maty Cancini (ISU) def. Karine-Marion Job (KSU), 6-1, 7-5
Ellie Murphy (ISU) def. Anna Turco (KSU), 6-4, 7-5
Margot Decker (KSU) def. Julia Deming (KU), 7-5, 6-4
Manami Ukita (KSU) def. Vasiliki Karvouni (KU), 6-1, 6-2
Ioana Gheorghita (KSU) def. Chie Kezuka (ISU), 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or K-State Women's Tennis on Facebook.
Great first day on the court 🎾
— K-State Tennis (@KStateTEN) October 31, 2020
📄 https://t.co/59I4HRgZU5#KStateTEN x Fall Invite pic.twitter.com/vn5Lerp1hJ
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