K-State Sees Season End Against Kansas at Big 12 Championship

WACO, Texas – The No. 8 seed Kansas State women's tennis team could not capitalize on its hot start in doubles' play against No. 9 seed Kansas, dropping four matchups in singles' action, which led to a 4-3 loss in the first round of the Big 12 Championship on Thursday (April 22) afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center.

With the win, the Jayhawks (8-12) advance to play top-seed and No. 3 Texas (21-1) in the quarterfinals on Friday.

As expected, Thursday's match was tight throughout. The teams' split their two regular-season meetings, including a 4-3 win at home by K-State on April 3. All but one of the singles' matchups went to three sets after the Wildcats grabbed the early momentum with the doubles' point.

As both teams battled to gain the upper hand, the match came down to court one, where sophomore Karine-Marion Job and Kansas' Malkia Ngounoue fought for the match point.

Job – the staple in the singles lineup for K-State – grinded through a tough outing with Ngounoue – the ITA's No. 73 ranked player – to keep the Wildcats afloat in singles play. Dealt a first-set defeat, Job regained the momentum from Ngounoue and powered past the Jayhawk in the second set, 7-5. Down 5-1, the Lyon, France, native scorched through the next six games and secured set two on court one. Job's energy transferred over into the third set, where she needed another comeback effort to tie the final set at 5-5.

However, Ngounoue showcased a flurry of volleys in the last leg of set three, snatching the final two games to earn a 7-5 set win and the match point for the Jayhawks.

Four lead changes took place over the course of the opening round showdown. K-State rattled off two victories in singles' action due to the strong efforts from senior Lilla Barzo and junior Anna Turco. Barzo and Turco delivered tightly contested victories from courts five and six, helping K-State tie the match at 3-all before the final matchup on court one.

A native of Szeged, Hungary, Barzo gave the Wildcats a spark from the No. 5 line, as she dispatched Kansas' Tiffany Lagarde, 6-1, 0-6, 6-4.

"It's hard to explain," said Barzo. "I think everyone was fighting so hard in their third sets. I am super happy I won my match. But at the same time, I am sad because we were hoping to win. We have to be thinking about the team, not individually."

Turco followed Barzo with a win on court six, where she battled back to send her match with the Jayhawks' Julia Deming to a third set, and then sealed the matchup with a score line of 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The Wildcats obtained their first doubles point since March 28 after set victories on courts one and two.

There was a new pairing in the No. 1 spot for K-State in doubles play - Job and Barzo – who took on Kansas' Sonia Smagina and Vasiliki Karvouni. Paired up together for the first time in their careers, K-State's No. 1 tandem diced up the Kansas duo of Smagina and Karvouni with a 6-2 set victory.

Court two featured the tandem of sophomore Ioana Gheorghita and junior Maria Linares, who earned a 6-2 win over the Jayhawks' Malkia Ngounoue and Julia Deming.

"I'm really glad we won the doubles point," said Barzo.

That early lead from K-State would vanish with the Jayhawks registering four points in the singles lineup.

Freshman Manami Ukita fell in two sets in the No. 3 spot to Kansas' Carmen Roxana Manu, 6-0, 6-4, to allow the Jayhawks to tack on their first point of the match.

Kansas then tied up the match at 3-3 with wins on courts two and four, as Smagina downed Linares in three sets, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, while Gheorghita lost her touch in the No. 4 position to Kansas' Vasiliki Karvouni in another three-set thriller, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6. Those matchups eventually led to the winner-take-all moment on court one between Job and Ngounoue.

The Wildcats complete the 2021 campaign with a 7-12 record, including a 2-7 mark in Big 12 play.

"I think we did well," said Barzo about the team's overall expectations this season. "I think we fought throughout the season. It was not the result we wanted at the end. We put our hearts out on the court. Nobody complained. In the future, I know this will be better for us. I love K-State. I don't regret anything."

No. 8 K-State vs. No. 9 Kansas
April 22, 2021
Hurd Tennis Center

Doubles Play
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
1. Karine-Marion Job/Lilla Barzo (KSU) def. Sonia Smagina/Vasiliki Karvouni (KAN) 6-2
2. Ioana Gheorghita/Maria Linares (KSU) def. Malkia Ngounoue/Julia Deming (KAN) 6-2
3. Carmen Roxana Manu/Tiffany Lagarde (KAN) def. Margot Decker/Anna Turco (KSU) 6-3

Singles Play:
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 2, 4, 6, 1
1. #89 Malkia Ngounoue (KAN) def. Karine-Marion Job (KSU) 7-6, 5-7, 7-5
2. Sonia Smagina (KAN) def. Maria Linares (KSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Carmen Roxana Manu (KAN) def. Manami Ukita (KSU) 6-0, 6-4
4. Vasiliki Karvouni (KAN) def. Ioana Gheorghita (KSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Lilla Barzo (KSU) def. Tiffany Lagarde (KAN) 6-1, 0-6, 6-4
6. Anna Turco (KSU) def. Julia Deming (KAN) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

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

K-State Sees Season End Against Kansas at Big 12 Championship

Players Mentioned

Margot Decker

Ioana Gheorghita

Karine-Marion Job

Maria Linares

Anna Turco

Manami Ukita

Players Mentioned

Margot Decker

Ioana Gheorghita

Karine-Marion Job

Maria Linares

Anna Turco

Manami Ukita

Kansas State University Athletics