Wildcats Bounce Back with 4-1 Win Over Iowa

DENVER, Colo. – The K-State women's tennis team bounced back from yesterdays loss to defeat Iowa 4-1 on Saturday (Feb. 3) in a neutral site match in at Denver Tennis Park in Denver, Colo.

K-State (4-1) dropped the doubles point for the second straight match, but bounced back during singles matches, defeating Iowa (1-4) in four matches, including two in three sets.

Freshman Maralgoo Chogsomjav and senior Manami Ukita dropped their second doubles match, losing in the no. 2 spot to Jessica Matthews and Vipasha Mehra in a close match, 6-4. Freshmen Jillian Harkin and Charlotte Keitel also lost their consecutive match, 6-2, to Barbora Pokorna and Pia Kranholdt in the no. 3 position.

Junior Veronika Kulhava and freshman Tereza Polakova once again went unfinished in the no. 1 spot, 3-4, against Chelsea Bluestein and Daianne Hayashida.

Kulhava claimed the first singles win of the day sweeping Bluestein 6-3, 6-2, her first win in the no. 2 position. Also winning in straight sets was Keitel, battling in a second set tiebreaker, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), against Marisa Schmidt, also earning her first win in the no. 3 spot.

Two Wildcats earned three-set victories-- sophomore Vanesa Suarez and Polakova. Suarez dropped the first set to Hayashida, 4-6, but battled back in the no. 1 position to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Polakova encountered her first three set match of the spring against Mehra, starting and finishing strong in the first and third set, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Two more 'Cats went unfinished in the third set— Chogsomjav and sophomore Maria Santos. Chogsomjav competed against Pokorna in the no. 5 spot, encountering a tough tiebreaker in the second set, 6-7 (6-8), and was almost tied up before it ended at 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 2-3. Santos was close to a victory in the no. 6 position over Kranholdt, facing little resistance in the third set, 6-3, 5-7, 4-1.

K-State will travel next to Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Friday (Feb. 9) against hosting Alabama (3-1) and Sunday (Feb. 11) against Indiana (4-2) in another neutral match.

FROM THE COURTS
Head Coach Jordan Smith
On the difference in team energy from yesterday's match…
"Amazing effort and bounce back by our ladies today. This team has the tennis ability to be in every match. Yesterday we didn't have the energy but today was different and so much better. The whole team brought it from the beginning to the end. I couldn't be more proud of them. This is the way K-State tennis should always look and play in matches."

K-State vs Iowa
Denver, Colo.
Denver Tennis Park

K-State 4, Iowa 1

Singles Competition
1. Vanesa Suarez (KSU) def. Daianne Hayashida (IOWA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. Veronika Kulhava (KSU) def. Chelsea Bluestein (IOWA) 6-3, 6-2
3. Charlotte Keitel (KSU) def. Marisa Schmidt (IOWA) 6-1, 7-6 (7-1)
4. Tereza Polakova (KSU) def. Vipasha Mehra (IOWA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
5. Maralgoo Chogsomjav (KSU) vs Barbora Pokorna (IOWA) 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 2-3, unfinished
6. Maria Santos (KSU) vs Pia Kranholdt (IOWA) 6-3, 5-7, 4-1, unfinished

Doubles Competition
1. Veronika Kulhava/Tereza Polakova (KSU) vs Chelsea Bluestein/Daianne Hayashida (IOWA) 3-4, unfinished
2. Jessica Matthews/Vipasha Mehra (IOWA) def. Maralgoo Chogsomjav/Manami Ukita (KSU) 6-4
3. Barbora Pokorna/Pia Kranholdt (IOWA) def. Jillian Harkin/Charlotte Keitel (KSU) 6-2

How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Women's Tennis Team, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Instagram.

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Players Mentioned

Maralgoo Chogsomjav

Jillian Harkin

Charlotte Keitel

Veronika Kulhava

Tereza Polakova

Maria Santos

Vanesa Suarez

Manami Ukita