K-State Sets for Conference Road Trip at Iowa State, West Virginia

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women's tennis team will open a three-match road trip this weekend, as the Wildcats travel to Ames, Iowa for a battle with No. 33 Iowa State on Friday, March 26 at 4 p.m., CT before heading east to Morgantown, West Virginia to tussle with West Virginia on Sunday, March 28 at 9 a.m., CT.

Due to COVID-19 regulations, both matches will have a limited number of fans and spectators that will be allowed at either of the Forker Tennis Courts and Mountaineer Tennis Courts.

K-State (5-5) looks to tack on its first road victory of the season during its road trip, as the Wildcats have dropped multiple close calls in their first five matches away from the Little Apple, including a 4-3 setback to TCU in their most recent road match on March 14. However, the narrative has been anything but impressive at home for the Wildcats this season, collecting an unblemished mark of 5-0 at Body First Tennis Center.

During this torrid stretch at home, K-State has only allowed a total of three points on the board through five home matches, including three sweeps (Drake, Arizona, and DePaul).

One of eight nationally-ranked Big 12 teams, No. 33 Iowa State (10-4) has been on a tear of late especially at home, posting a perfect 6-0 record at the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center. Last weekend, the Cyclones posted a pair 4-3 victories over No. 30 Texas Tech and No. 41 TCU at home. They are led by the No. 73 ranked doubles tandem of Miska Kadleckova and Thasaporn Naklo, who boast a 10-3 mark.

West Virginia (3-4) - which remains winless in conference play - will play host to No. 44 Kansas on Friday before preparing for its clash on Sunday with the Wildcats. The Mountaineers have lost their last four matches, including losses to No. 41 TCU (5-2) and No. 30 Texas Tech (7-0) last weekend.

K-State is coming off an impressive 4-0 sweep of DePaul on Monday, which snapped a three-game losing streak. The win got started with a dominating outing at the No. 1 spot in doubles play, as junior Maria Linares and teammate Karine-Marion Job earned their first win together since February 13, taking down DePaul's Lenka Antonijevic and Yuliya Kizelbasheva, 6-2. K-State followed suit in the No. 2 doubles position, as freshman Manami Ukita and senior Lilla Barzo prevailed over the Blue Demons' Marija Jovicic and Alina Kuzmenkova, 6-4, which moved the duo to 5-0 in dual matches.

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.

Grinding through adversity all season, Linares has excelled over the last two matches from the No. 2 spot, dicing up her opponents in back-to-back matches to record a 2-0 mark. Linares shined in her showdown with Kansas' Malkia Ngounoue on last Sunday, registering a two-set win, 6-4, 6-3. She continued her momentum against DePaul's Alina Kuzemnkova with another straight-set victory, 6-4, 6-3 on Monday. Those two victories pushed Linares over .500 in dual matches, upping her record to 4-3 on the year.

Ukita has continued her improvement at the No. 4 spot, which included a swift win over the Blue Demons' Yuliya Kizelbasheva, 6-3, 6-1, raising her dual-match record to 4-3. Combining her efficient outing during the fall season, Ukita (15-6) has now gathered 15 wins during her freshman campaign.

Following the weekend road trip, K-State will finish out the 2021 road schedule with a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma on Wednesday, March 31 to face off with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8-4).

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

K-State Sets for Conference Road Trip at Iowa State, West Virginia

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Players Mentioned

Karine-Marion Job

Maria Linares

Manami Ukita

Kansas State University Athletics