SE: Why Not Us – K-State Tennis Makes History in Sunflower Showdown
Apr 06, 2021 | Tennis, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
There's a bottle of whipped cream at every K-State Tennis match, just in case.
Jordan Smith told his team that when the Wildcats defeated their first Big 12 opponent this season, a member of the coaching staff was getting hit with a pie in the face.
It didn't take the 'Cats long to decide who that coach was going be after the program's first victory over Kansas since 2014.
"Thank goodness I don't have a lot of hair, so it was an easy cleanup," Smith said. "It doesn't matter if we have to grab towels, spray whipped cream and pie every single person on the coaching staff. Whatever it takes to win."
The win at Mike Goss Stadium on Saturday afternoon would have been dramatic under any circumstances. A victory in a winner-take-all singles' match for Ioana Gheorghita meant the Wildcats got to celebrate a walk-off win.
"I need some time to chill and then I'll probably realized what happened," Gheorghita said. "But the first feeling was just excitement. I'm so happy for the team."
To put Gheorghita's match-winning performance in perspective, here's a quick K-State Tennis history lesson.
Smith arrived from Middle Tennessee in 2015 as an assistant, taking over as head coach of the Wildcats in 2018. His longest-tenured player, senior Margot Decker, has been here since 2017.
Nobody at this program knew what it felt like to beat the Jayhawks. Until Saturday afternoon.
"We haven't had that, and we talked about it yesterday. We said, 'Listen ladies, it's been seven years.' Why can't we go and show that we're just as good?" Smith said. "We're right there. Why not us?"
The Jayhawks came to Manhattan ranked among the top 50 programs in the nation, with wins over K-State, West Virginia and Iowa State on their Big 12 resume.
Kansas might have owned the series, but the Wildcats showed promise in individual matches this season when the programs matched up throughout the fall and winter.
Putting enough of those performances together for a team win over the Jayhawks in the spring would be a tall order, but on a postcard perfect Saturday in Manhattan, the Wildcats delivered.
"The main thing going through my head was next point, next point, next point," Gheorghita said. "The coaches said this was our opportunity. If we're here, we're here to take it. All we have to do is work hard."
The afternoon got off to a rocky start as Kansas won a hard-earned doubles point on the set tiebreaker. In need of a dominant performance from his team in singles' play, Smith came back to a simple theme: Why not us?
"Yeah, it sucks to lose 7-6 in a tiebreaker, but we were right there. Why not us? Why can't we get four points in singles' and get the win," Smith said. "They did a hell of a job."
The comeback began on court one, where Karine-Marion Job was once again in the No. 1 spot for the Wildcats. She cruised past an All-Big 12 opponent in Sonia Smagina of Kansas to get the Wildcats on the board.
K-State also picked up crucial points from Job and Anna Turco to put the spotlight on court five, where Gheorghita was battling Tiffany Lagarde in a singles match that would break the 3-3 tie.
"That's the best feeling in college tennis ever, when you're so close to winning but at the same time, so close to losing," Gheorghita said. "I don't have any other word to describe it."
Playing out of the No. 5 spot, Gheorghita appeared in three matches for the Wildcats this season before her sudden-death moment arrived on Saturday. The sophomore headed to the third set of a back-and-forth match with the team's first Big 12 win of the season on the line.
She had a chance to put away Lagarde in the second set, but lost the tiebreak, before slamming the door with a 6-4 win in the decisive third set. Cue the whipped cream.
More specifically, screaming, followed by hugs and everyone getting sprayed with water. Just like that, Gheorghita had smashed seven years of tennis frustration against the Jayhawks
And a towel full of whipped cream in her head coach's face.
"Jo was meant for this," Smith said. "This was her opportunity to showcase herself and get this done. Any kind of doubts could've crept in her head. We said, 'This girl is tired, you can go out there and take it from her,' and she did it. She went out there and won that match."
There's a bottle of whipped cream at every K-State Tennis match, just in case.
Jordan Smith told his team that when the Wildcats defeated their first Big 12 opponent this season, a member of the coaching staff was getting hit with a pie in the face.
It didn't take the 'Cats long to decide who that coach was going be after the program's first victory over Kansas since 2014.
"Thank goodness I don't have a lot of hair, so it was an easy cleanup," Smith said. "It doesn't matter if we have to grab towels, spray whipped cream and pie every single person on the coaching staff. Whatever it takes to win."
The win at Mike Goss Stadium on Saturday afternoon would have been dramatic under any circumstances. A victory in a winner-take-all singles' match for Ioana Gheorghita meant the Wildcats got to celebrate a walk-off win.
We belong. 🌻#KStateTEN x Sunflower Showdown pic.twitter.com/MQ87JWASiv
— K-State Tennis (@KStateTEN) April 5, 2021
"I need some time to chill and then I'll probably realized what happened," Gheorghita said. "But the first feeling was just excitement. I'm so happy for the team."
To put Gheorghita's match-winning performance in perspective, here's a quick K-State Tennis history lesson.
Smith arrived from Middle Tennessee in 2015 as an assistant, taking over as head coach of the Wildcats in 2018. His longest-tenured player, senior Margot Decker, has been here since 2017.
Nobody at this program knew what it felt like to beat the Jayhawks. Until Saturday afternoon.
"We haven't had that, and we talked about it yesterday. We said, 'Listen ladies, it's been seven years.' Why can't we go and show that we're just as good?" Smith said. "We're right there. Why not us?"
The Jayhawks came to Manhattan ranked among the top 50 programs in the nation, with wins over K-State, West Virginia and Iowa State on their Big 12 resume.
Kansas might have owned the series, but the Wildcats showed promise in individual matches this season when the programs matched up throughout the fall and winter.
Putting enough of those performances together for a team win over the Jayhawks in the spring would be a tall order, but on a postcard perfect Saturday in Manhattan, the Wildcats delivered.
"The main thing going through my head was next point, next point, next point," Gheorghita said. "The coaches said this was our opportunity. If we're here, we're here to take it. All we have to do is work hard."
The afternoon got off to a rocky start as Kansas won a hard-earned doubles point on the set tiebreaker. In need of a dominant performance from his team in singles' play, Smith came back to a simple theme: Why not us?
"Yeah, it sucks to lose 7-6 in a tiebreaker, but we were right there. Why not us? Why can't we get four points in singles' and get the win," Smith said. "They did a hell of a job."
The comeback began on court one, where Karine-Marion Job was once again in the No. 1 spot for the Wildcats. She cruised past an All-Big 12 opponent in Sonia Smagina of Kansas to get the Wildcats on the board.
K-State also picked up crucial points from Job and Anna Turco to put the spotlight on court five, where Gheorghita was battling Tiffany Lagarde in a singles match that would break the 3-3 tie.
"That's the best feeling in college tennis ever, when you're so close to winning but at the same time, so close to losing," Gheorghita said. "I don't have any other word to describe it."
Playing out of the No. 5 spot, Gheorghita appeared in three matches for the Wildcats this season before her sudden-death moment arrived on Saturday. The sophomore headed to the third set of a back-and-forth match with the team's first Big 12 win of the season on the line.
She had a chance to put away Lagarde in the second set, but lost the tiebreak, before slamming the door with a 6-4 win in the decisive third set. Cue the whipped cream.
More specifically, screaming, followed by hugs and everyone getting sprayed with water. Just like that, Gheorghita had smashed seven years of tennis frustration against the Jayhawks
And a towel full of whipped cream in her head coach's face.
"Jo was meant for this," Smith said. "This was her opportunity to showcase herself and get this done. Any kind of doubts could've crept in her head. We said, 'This girl is tired, you can go out there and take it from her,' and she did it. She went out there and won that match."
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