Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, February 22
Iowa City, Iowa
12:00 PM
Kansas State University
4
vs
1
DePaul
K-State Handles DePaul, 4-1, on Saturday Afternoon
Feb 22, 2020 | Tennis
IOWA CITY, Iowa – In the first of two matches played in Big Ten territory this weekend, the Kansas State women's tennis team conquered DePaul, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
"This was another gritty win for us," said Head Coach Jordan Smith. "Like I said earlier this week, DePaul is a very good team. They competed well the entire match and made our team earn everything. I expect to see them do well in their conference."
Facing off with a Big East opponent for the first time this season, K-State had its hands full in doubles play, as the point came down to the No. 2 position. After sophomore Karine-Marion Job and junior Maria Linares won 6-4 in the No. 1 spot over DePaul's Lenka Antonijevic and Yuliya Kizelbasheva, juniors Anna Turco and Margot Decker fought through six-set points to clinch the doubles' point over the Blue Demons' Aspasia Avgeri and Alina Kuzemnkova, 7-6 (7-3).
"Winning the doubles point was huge for us," said Smith. "DePaul is solid at doubles and they forced us to play different styles in order to win. All three of our doubles' pairings competed well and kept us alive. Margot and Anna had about six match points before they were finally able to win and get us the doubles' point. I thought we backed off a little in singles and started a little slow. After several games, we finally got into a better rhythm and did what we needed to win the match."
K-State used the momentum from its double victories to take hold of the match in singles play. Job got the Wildcats going with a solid two-set victory, 6-4, 6-1, in the No. 5 spot over DePaul's Marija Jovicic. Coming off a tough loss to a nationally ranked opponent in the No. 1 position last weekend, junior Maria Linares kept the momentum going in the match with a two-set win against the Blue Demons' Alina Kuzmenkova, 6-3, 6-2.
Closing out the match for K-State was Turco, who fought off a comeback in her second set by the Blue Demons' Avgeri, taking the point and solidifying the Wildcats' sixth victory with a 6-3, 7-5 outing in the No. 2 spot.
Arriving with a six-match win streak in the No. 3 position, Decker battled with the Blue Demons' Kizelbasheva but faltered in two sets, 3-6, 4-6. It was her first loss since January 25 at Duke.
Senior Ines Mesquita and sophomore Rosanna Maffei were unable to finish out their matches in the No. 4 and 6 spots for singles play due to Turco's victory. Mesquita was on her way to a three-set comeback performance in the No. 6 spot but ended her day with a score line of 4-6, 6-2, 1-0. Maffei has now had back-to-back singles outings go unfinished dating back to last week, as she wound up ending her day in the second set with a score of 7-5, 2-6.
K-State improves to 6-3 on the year, which is one win off its 2019 spring season start, when the team began the campaign with a 7-2 mark through the first nine matches.
The Wildcats continue their stay in Iowa City, Iowa as the team will face off with host Iowa at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
"It's a quick turnaround playing against the home team in Iowa," Smith said. They are coming off a win on Friday and I expect tomorrow to be another great college tennis match."
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Tennis on Facebook.
Kansas State vs. DePaul
February 22, 2020
Hawkeye Tennis Complex
Doubles Play
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
No. 1. Linares/Job (KSU) def. Antonijevic/Kizelbasheva (DEPAUL) 6-4
No. 2. Decker Turco (KSU) def. Avgeri/Kuzmenkova (DEPAUL) 7-6 (7-3)
No. 3 Djokic/Jovicic (DEPAUL) def. Mesquita/Barzo (KSU) 6-3
Singles Play:
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3, 2
No. 1. Maria Linares (KSU) def. Alina Kuzmenkova (DEPAUL) 6-3, 6-2
No. 2. Anna Turco (KSU) def. Aspasia Avgeri (DEPAUL) 6-3, 7-5
No. 3. Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DEPAUL) def. Margot Decker (KSU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 4. Rosanna Maffei (KSU) vs. Lenka Antonijevic (DEPAUL) 7-5, 2-6, unfinished
No. 5. Karine-Marion Job (KSU) def. Marija Jovicic (DEPAUL) 6-4, 6-1
No. 6. Ines Mesquita (KSU) vs. Hristina Djokic (DEPAUL) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0, unfinished
"This was another gritty win for us," said Head Coach Jordan Smith. "Like I said earlier this week, DePaul is a very good team. They competed well the entire match and made our team earn everything. I expect to see them do well in their conference."
Facing off with a Big East opponent for the first time this season, K-State had its hands full in doubles play, as the point came down to the No. 2 position. After sophomore Karine-Marion Job and junior Maria Linares won 6-4 in the No. 1 spot over DePaul's Lenka Antonijevic and Yuliya Kizelbasheva, juniors Anna Turco and Margot Decker fought through six-set points to clinch the doubles' point over the Blue Demons' Aspasia Avgeri and Alina Kuzemnkova, 7-6 (7-3).
"Winning the doubles point was huge for us," said Smith. "DePaul is solid at doubles and they forced us to play different styles in order to win. All three of our doubles' pairings competed well and kept us alive. Margot and Anna had about six match points before they were finally able to win and get us the doubles' point. I thought we backed off a little in singles and started a little slow. After several games, we finally got into a better rhythm and did what we needed to win the match."
K-State used the momentum from its double victories to take hold of the match in singles play. Job got the Wildcats going with a solid two-set victory, 6-4, 6-1, in the No. 5 spot over DePaul's Marija Jovicic. Coming off a tough loss to a nationally ranked opponent in the No. 1 position last weekend, junior Maria Linares kept the momentum going in the match with a two-set win against the Blue Demons' Alina Kuzmenkova, 6-3, 6-2.
Closing out the match for K-State was Turco, who fought off a comeback in her second set by the Blue Demons' Avgeri, taking the point and solidifying the Wildcats' sixth victory with a 6-3, 7-5 outing in the No. 2 spot.
Arriving with a six-match win streak in the No. 3 position, Decker battled with the Blue Demons' Kizelbasheva but faltered in two sets, 3-6, 4-6. It was her first loss since January 25 at Duke.
Senior Ines Mesquita and sophomore Rosanna Maffei were unable to finish out their matches in the No. 4 and 6 spots for singles play due to Turco's victory. Mesquita was on her way to a three-set comeback performance in the No. 6 spot but ended her day with a score line of 4-6, 6-2, 1-0. Maffei has now had back-to-back singles outings go unfinished dating back to last week, as she wound up ending her day in the second set with a score of 7-5, 2-6.
K-State improves to 6-3 on the year, which is one win off its 2019 spring season start, when the team began the campaign with a 7-2 mark through the first nine matches.
The Wildcats continue their stay in Iowa City, Iowa as the team will face off with host Iowa at 12 p.m. CT on Sunday at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
"It's a quick turnaround playing against the home team in Iowa," Smith said. They are coming off a win on Friday and I expect tomorrow to be another great college tennis match."
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Tennis on Facebook.
Kansas State vs. DePaul
February 22, 2020
Hawkeye Tennis Complex
Doubles Play
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
No. 1. Linares/Job (KSU) def. Antonijevic/Kizelbasheva (DEPAUL) 6-4
No. 2. Decker Turco (KSU) def. Avgeri/Kuzmenkova (DEPAUL) 7-6 (7-3)
No. 3 Djokic/Jovicic (DEPAUL) def. Mesquita/Barzo (KSU) 6-3
Singles Play:
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3, 2
No. 1. Maria Linares (KSU) def. Alina Kuzmenkova (DEPAUL) 6-3, 6-2
No. 2. Anna Turco (KSU) def. Aspasia Avgeri (DEPAUL) 6-3, 7-5
No. 3. Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DEPAUL) def. Margot Decker (KSU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 4. Rosanna Maffei (KSU) vs. Lenka Antonijevic (DEPAUL) 7-5, 2-6, unfinished
No. 5. Karine-Marion Job (KSU) def. Marija Jovicic (DEPAUL) 6-4, 6-1
No. 6. Ines Mesquita (KSU) vs. Hristina Djokic (DEPAUL) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0, unfinished
Players Mentioned
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