K-State Routs Drake in 2021 Home Opener, 7-0

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women's tennis team took an early lead in its match against the Drake Bulldogs and never looked back, as the Wildcats collected an unblemished 7-0 win on Friday (February 12) afternoon inside Body First Tennis Center.

"Getting the doubles point was key for us today," said head coach Jordan Smith. "We've gotten down early in our previous matches, so it definitely helped with our momentum and confidence to start out with the lead. Having that doubles point lead helped put some of those nerves away early in singles."

K-State (1-2) delivered in all phases today, as the Wildcats captured their first doubles point of the season while sweeping the remaining six points in singles' competition to secure its first win of the 2021 season.

Sophomore Karine-Marion Job attributed to two of the seven points for the Wildcats in the win, as the Lyon, France, native locked down the Bulldogs' Liza Petushkova with a two-set win, 6-1, 7-5. This is Job's first victory at the No. 1 spot in her K-State career.

Prior to Job's win at No. 1 singles, she teamed up with junior Maria Linares to earn a 6-4 victory over Drake's Petushkova and Maria Tatarnikova to clinch the doubles' point and an early 1-0 lead. It was the No. 46^th-ranked doubles team's first win of the spring campaign.

K-State opened doubles play with junior Lilla Barzo and freshman Manami Ukita collecting a 6-2 win over the Bulldogs' Darinka Stepan and Ines Stephani at the No. 3 spot.

"We knew this doubles point was going to be a little tighter with us putting two new pairs out there," said Smith. "Luckily, all three doubles teams did their jobs and got three wins."

After Job's outing at the top of the lineup, the Wildcats finished off the Bulldogs through the rest of the singles matches, including two three-set tiebreakers.

Sophomore Rosanna Maffei and senior Margot Decker each got needed third-set tiebreakers to sink their Drake opponents and maintain K-State's perfect score. Maffei put together a score line of 6-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-8) to squeeze by the Bulldogs' Maria Tatarnikova. Decker found success in the third set with a 10-8 win to finish out a 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8) victory over Drake's Ines Stephani.

Senior Lilla Barzo and Manami Ukita swept the No. 3 and No. 5 matchups for K-State in straight sets. Ukita, who competed out of the No. 3 spot for the first time in her young career, defeated Daria Walczak of Drake with a score of 6-1, 6-2. Barzo diced up the Bulldogs' Kelsey Neville, 6-1, 6-1, to boost her singles record to 6-2 for 2020-21.

Junior Anna Turco capped off the win for the Wildcats with quick showing in the No. 6 spot against Drake's Darinka Stepan, 6-3, 6-0.

"The first three matches came out fairly well and got the job done," Smith stated. "Give credit to the last three ladies on the courts today. It is never easy to keep your motivation and compete after the match has been decided in our favor. Thankfully, we didn't have any major hiccups and pulled out the clean 7-0 win."

The Wildcats lost only a total of two sets in singles play that slip through their grasps, which came in Maffei's and Decker's three-set victories.

With the win, K-State is now 11-4 all-time against Drake in dual-match play.

The Wildcats will host the Denver Pioneers tomorrow at 10 a.m., CT inside Body First Tennis Center to complete first home stint of the 2021 season.

"Tomorrow is definitely going to be a challenge for us," said Smith. "Denver is a strong indoor team and coming off a good win today. I told our ladies that we're going to do whatever it takes to make them feel uncomfortable. We have to bring it when playing at home."

K-State vs. Drake
February 12, 2021
Body First Tennis Center

Doubles Play
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
No. 1. #46 Linares/Job (KSU) def. Petushkova/Tatarnikova (DU), 6-4
No. 2. Decker/Gheorghita (KSU) def. Webb/Neville (DU), 7-5
No. 3. Barzo/Ukita (KSU) def. Stepan/Stephani (DU), 6-2

Singles Play:
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3, 6, 4, 2
No. 1. Karine-Marion Job (KSU) def. Liza Petushkova (DU) 6-1, 7-5
No. 2. Rosanna Maffei (KSU) def. Maria Tatarnikova (DU) 6-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-6)
No. 3. Manami Ukita (KSU) def. Daria Walczak (DU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 4. Margot Decker (KSU) def. Ines Stephani (DU) 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
No. 5. Lilla Barzo (KSU) def. Kelsey Neville (DU) 6-1, 6-1
No. 6. Anna Turco (KSU) def. Darinka Stepan (DU) 6-3, 6-0

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

CATS WIN!#KStateTEN pic.twitter.com/wW3gcGQCGT
— K-State Tennis (@KStateTEN) February 12, 2021

Brought home the W #KStateTEN pic.twitter.com/V1NnTtbyRT
— K-State Tennis (@KStateTEN) February 13, 2021

Defending our home court.#KStateTEN pic.twitter.com/SHdiZBt9Yn
— K-State Tennis (@KStateTEN) February 12, 2021

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Players Mentioned

Margot Decker

Karine-Marion Job

Maria Linares

Rosanna Maffei

Anna Turco

Manami Ukita