Kansas State University Athletics
Sunday, March 2
Manhattan, Kan.
12 p.m.
Kansas State University
4
vs
0
Houston
Wildcats Clinch First Big 12 Win in 4-0 Sweep of Houston
Mar 02, 2025 | Tennis
Match included first two wins for Zhanel Rustemova
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State women's tennis team captured their first Big 12 win on Sunday (March 2) with a 4-0 sweep of Houston to wrap up the first weekend of Big 12 play at home at Mike Goss Tennis Stadium.
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#73 K-State (4-5, 1-1 Big 12) claimed the doubles point for the first time in conference matches over Houston (3-5, 0-2 Big 12), leading to a win off the first three singles matches.
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Senior Veronika Kulhava and junior Maria Santos claimed the first win of the day in the no. 3 spot against Gabriela Cortes and Sophia Schouten, 6-1. Competing as a duo for the first time, junior Sana Garakani and freshman Zhanel Rustemova clinched the point for the Cats with a 6-3 final over Heta Nuutinen and Iva Sepa in the no. 2 position.
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Freshmen Maralgoo Chogsomjav and Charlotte Keitel were up on Elizaveta Morozova and Santa Strombacha, 5-4, in the no. 1 spot before the match went unfinished.
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Rustemova started the Cats success in singles matches, winning her first singles match this spring with a sweep of Sepa in the no. 2 position, 6-4, 6-3. She previously fell just short in her match up against UCF's Olivia Lincer on February 28.
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"Zhanel got off to a quick start," head coach Jordan Smith said. "It's just been great to have her finally out there, you know, her first two wins as a Wildcat. So that's been really excellent to see, and it's only been two days of competition."
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Sophomore Tereza Polakova earned the winning point with a tiebreaker second set in the no. 5 spot. Facing Schouten, she quickly won the first set before coming back from behind in the second for the clinching K-State point at 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).
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Kulhava won her first match after consecutive unfinished contests. Against Cortes in the no. 6 position, she almost left her scoreless in a 6-2, 6-1 sweep.
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The three remaining courts featured Wildcats fighting back from a first set deficit before stoppage. Keitel faced an early tiebreaker against Strombacha in the no. 1 spot before slowing collecting points in the second set. Ahead in the second at 6-7 (4-7), 3-2, her match went unfinished for the first time since facing Auburn on February 15.
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Chogsomjav was close to tying up the score against Morozova in the no. 3 position after falling short in the first set. She was battling back from behind in a high scoring second set before it went unfinished at 3-6, 6-5.
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Back in the no. 4 spot again, Santos faltered in the first set against Krokhotina before regaining some momentum for a 5-7, 4-3 score at the end.
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K-State will hit the road for the first time in conference play on Friday (March 7) to play Cincinnati (6-2, 0-1 Big 12) at 12 p.m. CT, before facing West Virginia (6-7, 0-2 Big 12) on Sunday at 10 a.m. CT.
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FROM THE COURTS
Head Coach Jordan Smith
On the importance of winning the doubles point for momentum…
"We're building towards, you know, can we start a match after winning at double point and show what we can do in the lead? That's what helped us with Iowa to get a win. We know we've been close. UCF, we just played a bad game… and then it's hard to play from behind. So, we just challenged the girls, only thing we need to focus on is trying to win this doubles, then you can carry into singles, and I think they did that today."
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On how a win brings confidence heading back on the road…
"Houston brought it in singles, and they made us really work and so really proud of our girls that we were able to overcome. Hopefully, we got the monkey off our back by winning a good match at home and we can carry that on the road to West Virginia and Cincinnati."
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Houston vs K-State
Mike Goss Tennis Stadium
Manhattan, Kan.
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#73 K-State 4, Houston 0
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Singles Competition
1. Charlotte Keitel (KSU) vs. Santa Strombacha (HOU) 6-7 (4-7), 3-2, unfinished
2. Zhanel Rustemova (KSU) def. Iva Sepa (HOU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Maralgoo Chogsomjav (KSU) vs. Elizaveta Morozova (HOU) 3-6, 6-5, unfinished
4. Maria Santos (KSU) vs. Velriia Krokhotina (HOU) 5-7, 4-3, unfinished
5. Tereza Polakova (KSU) def. Sophia Schouten (HOU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Veronika Kulhava (KSU) def. Gabriela Cortes (HOU) 6-2, 6-1
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Doubles Competition
1. Maralgoo Chogsomjav/Charlotte Keitel (KSU) vs. Elizaveta Morozova/Santa Strombacha (HOU), 5-4, unfinished
2. Sana Garakani/Zhanel Rustemova (KSU) def. Heta Nuutinen/Iva Sepa (HOU) 6-3
3. Veronika Kulhava/Maria Santos (KSU) def. Gabriela Cortes/Sophia Schouten (HOU) 6-2
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How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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#73 K-State (4-5, 1-1 Big 12) claimed the doubles point for the first time in conference matches over Houston (3-5, 0-2 Big 12), leading to a win off the first three singles matches.
Â
Senior Veronika Kulhava and junior Maria Santos claimed the first win of the day in the no. 3 spot against Gabriela Cortes and Sophia Schouten, 6-1. Competing as a duo for the first time, junior Sana Garakani and freshman Zhanel Rustemova clinched the point for the Cats with a 6-3 final over Heta Nuutinen and Iva Sepa in the no. 2 position.
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Freshmen Maralgoo Chogsomjav and Charlotte Keitel were up on Elizaveta Morozova and Santa Strombacha, 5-4, in the no. 1 spot before the match went unfinished.
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Rustemova started the Cats success in singles matches, winning her first singles match this spring with a sweep of Sepa in the no. 2 position, 6-4, 6-3. She previously fell just short in her match up against UCF's Olivia Lincer on February 28.
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"Zhanel got off to a quick start," head coach Jordan Smith said. "It's just been great to have her finally out there, you know, her first two wins as a Wildcat. So that's been really excellent to see, and it's only been two days of competition."
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Sophomore Tereza Polakova earned the winning point with a tiebreaker second set in the no. 5 spot. Facing Schouten, she quickly won the first set before coming back from behind in the second for the clinching K-State point at 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).
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Kulhava won her first match after consecutive unfinished contests. Against Cortes in the no. 6 position, she almost left her scoreless in a 6-2, 6-1 sweep.
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The three remaining courts featured Wildcats fighting back from a first set deficit before stoppage. Keitel faced an early tiebreaker against Strombacha in the no. 1 spot before slowing collecting points in the second set. Ahead in the second at 6-7 (4-7), 3-2, her match went unfinished for the first time since facing Auburn on February 15.
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Chogsomjav was close to tying up the score against Morozova in the no. 3 position after falling short in the first set. She was battling back from behind in a high scoring second set before it went unfinished at 3-6, 6-5.
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Back in the no. 4 spot again, Santos faltered in the first set against Krokhotina before regaining some momentum for a 5-7, 4-3 score at the end.
Â
K-State will hit the road for the first time in conference play on Friday (March 7) to play Cincinnati (6-2, 0-1 Big 12) at 12 p.m. CT, before facing West Virginia (6-7, 0-2 Big 12) on Sunday at 10 a.m. CT.
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FROM THE COURTS
Head Coach Jordan Smith
On the importance of winning the doubles point for momentum…
"We're building towards, you know, can we start a match after winning at double point and show what we can do in the lead? That's what helped us with Iowa to get a win. We know we've been close. UCF, we just played a bad game… and then it's hard to play from behind. So, we just challenged the girls, only thing we need to focus on is trying to win this doubles, then you can carry into singles, and I think they did that today."
Â
On how a win brings confidence heading back on the road…
"Houston brought it in singles, and they made us really work and so really proud of our girls that we were able to overcome. Hopefully, we got the monkey off our back by winning a good match at home and we can carry that on the road to West Virginia and Cincinnati."
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Houston vs K-State
Mike Goss Tennis Stadium
Manhattan, Kan.
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#73 K-State 4, Houston 0
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Singles Competition
1. Charlotte Keitel (KSU) vs. Santa Strombacha (HOU) 6-7 (4-7), 3-2, unfinished
2. Zhanel Rustemova (KSU) def. Iva Sepa (HOU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Maralgoo Chogsomjav (KSU) vs. Elizaveta Morozova (HOU) 3-6, 6-5, unfinished
4. Maria Santos (KSU) vs. Velriia Krokhotina (HOU) 5-7, 4-3, unfinished
5. Tereza Polakova (KSU) def. Sophia Schouten (HOU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Veronika Kulhava (KSU) def. Gabriela Cortes (HOU) 6-2, 6-1
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Doubles Competition
1. Maralgoo Chogsomjav/Charlotte Keitel (KSU) vs. Elizaveta Morozova/Santa Strombacha (HOU), 5-4, unfinished
2. Sana Garakani/Zhanel Rustemova (KSU) def. Heta Nuutinen/Iva Sepa (HOU) 6-3
3. Veronika Kulhava/Maria Santos (KSU) def. Gabriela Cortes/Sophia Schouten (HOU) 6-2
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-- k-statesports.com --
 How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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