Linares Awarded With Two ITA Central Regional Accolades
Jun 07, 2022 | Tennis
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Senior Maria Linares has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Region Most Improved Senior and the Cissie Leary Sportsmanship recipient, the organization announced on Monday (June 6).
The Division I Playing Awards include Wilson ITA Coach of the Year, ITA Assistant Coach of the Year, Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship, ITA Rookie of the Year, ITA Most Improved Senior, ITA Senior Player of the Year, ITA Community Service and ITA Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award.
"It's almost hard to put into words how amazing Maria was this year, especially knowing how hard she worked to get back in form, win matches and do it with respect for her opponents and K-State," stated head coach Jordan Smith. "Therefore, I am beyond proud to see her get all this recognition from the season. Only six awards are given to players in each region and Maria won two of those six. So that shows how much respect she has from all the other programs with her tennis and character. I've been fortunate to coach such an incredible young lady and will miss having her a part of this team."
The Venezuela native had an outstanding 2021-22 season and found herself ranked No. 110 in the final ITA national rankings.
Linares closed out her final season as a K-State Wildcat with a record of 14-4 (4-2 Big 12) in singles play and 10-8 in doubles with senior partner Karine-Marion Job.
The duo played in the number one spot during the entire 2022 spring season, while Linares shifted between the number one spot, two spot and three spot in singles play.
At the conclusion of her senior year, Linares found herself with a record of 6-2 at the number one spot, 5-2 in the number two spot and was undefeated (3-0) in the number three spot.
Highlighting the season was her two-set victory, 6-3, 6-2, over then No. 44 ranked Ivana Corley from Oklahoma on March 13, 2022.
Linares was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team Singles on April 28, her first second-team singles honor. She was one of 16 selections on the First and Second Teams for singles.
Shortly before the 2022 campaign came to an end, Linares was one of six Wildcats named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team. This distinction was her fourth-straight honor.
K-State rounded out the year at the Big 12 Tennis Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. The Wildcats came out on top in the first round after defeating TCU, 4-2, on April 12. It was during the second round on April 22 where K-State dropped to No. 1 seed Oklahoma.
The Wildcats concluded the spring season with a 10-13 overall record and a 1-8 mark in conference play.
For the latest on K-State Women's Tennis, follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Women's Tennis on Facebook.
The Division I Playing Awards include Wilson ITA Coach of the Year, ITA Assistant Coach of the Year, Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship, ITA Rookie of the Year, ITA Most Improved Senior, ITA Senior Player of the Year, ITA Community Service and ITA Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award.
"It's almost hard to put into words how amazing Maria was this year, especially knowing how hard she worked to get back in form, win matches and do it with respect for her opponents and K-State," stated head coach Jordan Smith. "Therefore, I am beyond proud to see her get all this recognition from the season. Only six awards are given to players in each region and Maria won two of those six. So that shows how much respect she has from all the other programs with her tennis and character. I've been fortunate to coach such an incredible young lady and will miss having her a part of this team."
The Venezuela native had an outstanding 2021-22 season and found herself ranked No. 110 in the final ITA national rankings.
Linares closed out her final season as a K-State Wildcat with a record of 14-4 (4-2 Big 12) in singles play and 10-8 in doubles with senior partner Karine-Marion Job.
The duo played in the number one spot during the entire 2022 spring season, while Linares shifted between the number one spot, two spot and three spot in singles play.
At the conclusion of her senior year, Linares found herself with a record of 6-2 at the number one spot, 5-2 in the number two spot and was undefeated (3-0) in the number three spot.
Highlighting the season was her two-set victory, 6-3, 6-2, over then No. 44 ranked Ivana Corley from Oklahoma on March 13, 2022.
Linares was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team Singles on April 28, her first second-team singles honor. She was one of 16 selections on the First and Second Teams for singles.
Shortly before the 2022 campaign came to an end, Linares was one of six Wildcats named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team. This distinction was her fourth-straight honor.
K-State rounded out the year at the Big 12 Tennis Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. The Wildcats came out on top in the first round after defeating TCU, 4-2, on April 12. It was during the second round on April 22 where K-State dropped to No. 1 seed Oklahoma.
The Wildcats concluded the spring season with a 10-13 overall record and a 1-8 mark in conference play.
For the latest on K-State Women's Tennis, follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or Kansas State Women's Tennis on Facebook.
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