K-State Remains Perfect at Home, Sweeps DePaul

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The No. 46 Kansas State women's tennis team grabbed the momentum early with the doubles' point then found their touch in singles play to remain perfect at home this season, sweeping DePaul, 4-0, on Monday afternoon inside the Body First Tennis Center.

"You got to be better than yesterday and for them to come out today and have all eight girls, whether they played or not, bring it and come together, that's what we want," said head coach Jordan Smith.

Returning home in hopes of getting back on the right side of the box score, K-State (5-5) rebounded from a tough loss on Sunday to hand DePaul (7-2) its second loss of the season. It was a dominating effort from the Wildcats, who did not surrender a single set in either segment of the match.

Things got rolling for the Wildcats in doubles play, where K-State handled DePaul's top-two pairings in orderly fashion. Sophomore Karine-Marion Job and junior Maria Linares rekindled their winning ways with a 6-2 set victory over the Blue Demons' Lenka Antonijevic and Yuliya Kizelbasheva in the No. 1 spot. On court three, senior Lilla Barzo and freshman Manami Ukita continued to display excellent chemistry, as the duo collected the first point of the match for K-State with a 6-4 set win over DePaul's Marija Jovicic and Alina Kuzmenkova.

The Wildcats then turned up the heat in singles' competition, clinching the win with three-straight victories from the No. 2, 4, and 6 positions.

Slotted at the No. 4 spot, Ukita carried her momentum over from doubles play and secured a two-set win over the Blue Demons' Yuliya Kizelbasheva, 6-3, 6-1. The win improves her mark in the No. 4 spot to 3-1 on the year.

Trailing 1-2 in the first set of the No. 2 matchup, Linares stepped on the gas and never looked back to defeat DePaul's Alina Kuzmenkova in two sets, 6-4, 6-3, giving her a perfect 2-0 stretch over the last two days.

"I think today was good," Linares said. "I have been working on my conditioning and working on making changes to my game, and it has paid off. I was really happy about today."

Smith elaborated on Linares' outing at home.

"Maria (Linares) deserves to feel the way she does right now, and that should be great," said Smith.

Recording the match point on Monday afternoon was sophomore Ioana Gheorghita - who earned her second victory of the season from the No. 6 position - dispatching DePaul's Maddie Yergler, 6-4, 7-5.

K-State has now registered seven-straight wins at either Body First Tennis Center or Mike Goss Tennis Stadium, which dates back to a 4-1 win over SMU on February 28, 2020.

"For us, we have to make these home environments tough to play in," said Smith. "It hasn't been easy in every single win at home, but that's credit to our ladies who are taking ownership in their K-State pride."

The Wildcats will begin a three-match road trip this week, starting with a conference showdown with the Iowa State Cyclones (10-4) on Friday, March 26 in Ames, Iowa followed by a trip to West Virginia (3-4) on Sunday, March 28 in Morgantown, W.Va.

"These next three road matches are going to be huge," Smith stated. "To get at least two of the next three on the road, that will set us up nicely to have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament. For us to win all our matches at home but none on the road, that is unusual for us. We are over halfway through the season, now we just need to get one or two quality road wins, so we know we deserve to be in the tournament."

No. 46 K-State vs. DePaul
March 22, 2021
Body First Tennis Center

Doubles Play
Order of Finish: 1, 2
No. 1. #46 Karine-Marion Job/Maria Linares (KSU) def. Lenka Antonijevic/Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DEP) 6-2
No. 2. Lilla Barzo/Manami Ukita (KSU) def. Marija Jovicic/Alina Kuzmenkova (DEP) 6-4
No. 3. Ioana Gheorghita/Rosanna Maffei (KSU) vs. Aspasia Avgeri/Maddie Yergler (DEP) 4-5, unfinished

Singles Play:
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 6
No. 1. Aspasia Avgeri (DEP) vs. Karine-Marion Job (KSU) no result
No. 2. Maria Linares (KSU) def. Alina Kuzmenkova (DEP) 6-4, 6-3
No. 3. Lenka Antonijevic (DEP) vs. Rosanna Maffei (KSU) no result
No. 4. Manami Ukita (KSU) def. Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DEP) 6-3, 6-1
No. 5. Marija Jovicic (DEP) vs. Lilla Barzo (KSU) no result
No. 6. Ioana Gheorghita (KSU) def. Maddie Yergler (DEP) 6-4, 7-5

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

Players Mentioned

Ioana Gheorghita

Karine-Marion Job

Maria Linares

Rosanna Maffei

Manami Ukita

Players Mentioned

Ioana Gheorghita

Karine-Marion Job

Maria Linares

Rosanna Maffei

Manami Ukita

Kansas State University Athletics