Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, April 5
Manhattan, Kan.
12 p.m.
Kansas State University
4
vs
1
Utah
Wildcats Secure Another Win, 4-1 Over Utah in Final Home Match
Apr 05, 2025 | Tennis
K-State celebrated Senior Day and a consecutive win in Manhattan
MANHATTAN, Kan.- The K-State women's tennis team competed in the last home match of the season on Saturday (April 5) resulting in a 4-1 win over Utah at Body First Tennis Center. During the match the Wildcats celebrated seniors Veronika Kulhava and Sana Garakani.
#62 K-State (9-9, 6-5 Big 12) earned the doubles point for the first time in three matches and used that momentum over Utah (7-13, 2-9 Big 12) to get back to .500 on the season. The Wildcats finished 6-6 in home matches this year and 3-3 in matches at Body First.
Sophomores Maralgoo Chogsomjav and Charlotte Keitel claimed the first point for K-State early, almost sweeping their opponent in the no. 1 spot at 6-1 over Emma Kamper and Hayley Roberts. Kulhava and junior Maria Santos clinched the doubles point for the Wildcats in a high scoring match over Samantha Harwood and Dylan Lolofie, 7-5 in the no. 3 position.
Garakani and sophomore Tereza Polakova fell short in consecutive matches in the no. 2 spot, 3-6 to Sara Akid and Emma Valletta.
Keitel was successful in straight sets over her opponent in the no. 3 position. Playing against Kaila Barksdale, she dominated in the first set and kept her momentum in the second to sweep 6-1, 6-3. Keitel has earned consecutive wins for the first time since March 7 and 9 against Cincinnati and West Virginia.
Chogsomjav bounced back in the no. 2 spot after her first loss in six weeks with a victory in three sets. She dropped the first set at 5-7 against Akid but evened the score after encountering a tiebreaker in the second at 7-4. Using that momentum, she faced little resistance in the last set for a final of 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. Chogsomjav is a perfect 4-0 in three set conference matches this season.
Kulhava clinched the match for the Cats with a win over Valletta in the no. 4 position. She swept her opponent to start and kept her composure after a back-and-forth second set for a 6-0, 6-4 win. She is now 5-1 in straight sets in conference play.
Two Wildcats left their matches unfinished— Santos in a second set while Polakova had just started competing.
Santos stumbled in her first set to Roberts in the no. 5 spot but was trending in the right direction at stoppage with a score of 2-6, 3-0. Polakova was up 2-1 in the no. 6 position over Lolofie.
Freshman Zhanel Rustemova came up short against Kamper in the no. 1 spot in straight sets, 2-6, 0-6.
K-State will wrap up the regular season on the road at Iowa State (10-9, 4-7 Big 12) on Friday (April 11) at 4 p.m. and against Kansas (12-9, 6-5 Big 12) in the Sunflower Showdown on Sunday (April 13) at 12 p.m.
FROM THE COURTS
Head Coach Jordan Smith
On winning the final home match indoors…
"Happy that we got a win on senior day and obviously went 2-0 this weekend to finish at home. You know, it's been tough on our indoor home matches, so the fact that we could finish with a win indoors shows our team that we can do it. You know, we just keep preaching that we got to control what we can control, we can't get worried about what other people are doing, so I think they did that this weekend. And you know, two quality teams that we had that pushed us so happy with how we played. Quick turnaround to finish on the road and then conference, so hopefully we can finish strong and give ourselves a chance to go strong, deep in postseason."
On facing Iowa State and Kansas to finish the regular season…
"The parity in the conference is unbelievable this year. You know, obviously, having 16 teams, more conference matches, anything can happen. Yeah, I think we're neck and neck with both those teams, so we know they're going to bring it, not going to be easy. But it's a challenge and we know if we can rise to a challenge we're going to do really well, but nothing's going to come easy against either one of those teams."
Utah vs K-State
Body First Tennis Center
Manhattan, Kan.
#62 K-State 4, Utah 1
Singles Competition
1. Emma Kamper (UU) def. Zhanel Rustemova (KSU) 6-2, 6-0
2. Maralgoo Chogsomjav (KSU) def. Sara Akid (UU) 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
3. Charlotte Keitel (KSU) def. Kaila Barksdale (UU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Veronika Kulhava (KSU) def. Emma Valletta (UU) 6-0, 6-4
5. Maria Santos (KSU) vs Hayley Roberts (UU) 2-6, 3-0, unfinished
6. Tereza Polakova (KSU) vs Dylan Lolofie (UU) 2-1, unfinished
Doubles Competition
1. Maralgoo Chogsomjav/Charlotte Keitel (KSU) def. Emma Kamper/Hayley Roberts (UU) 6-1
2. Sara Akid/Emma Valletta (UU) def. Sana Garakani/Tereza Polakova (KSU) 6-3
3. Veronika Kulhava/Maria Santos (KSU) def. Samantha Harwood/Dylan Lolofie (UU) 7-5
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), Instagram and Facebook.
#62 K-State (9-9, 6-5 Big 12) earned the doubles point for the first time in three matches and used that momentum over Utah (7-13, 2-9 Big 12) to get back to .500 on the season. The Wildcats finished 6-6 in home matches this year and 3-3 in matches at Body First.
Sophomores Maralgoo Chogsomjav and Charlotte Keitel claimed the first point for K-State early, almost sweeping their opponent in the no. 1 spot at 6-1 over Emma Kamper and Hayley Roberts. Kulhava and junior Maria Santos clinched the doubles point for the Wildcats in a high scoring match over Samantha Harwood and Dylan Lolofie, 7-5 in the no. 3 position.
Garakani and sophomore Tereza Polakova fell short in consecutive matches in the no. 2 spot, 3-6 to Sara Akid and Emma Valletta.
Keitel was successful in straight sets over her opponent in the no. 3 position. Playing against Kaila Barksdale, she dominated in the first set and kept her momentum in the second to sweep 6-1, 6-3. Keitel has earned consecutive wins for the first time since March 7 and 9 against Cincinnati and West Virginia.
Chogsomjav bounced back in the no. 2 spot after her first loss in six weeks with a victory in three sets. She dropped the first set at 5-7 against Akid but evened the score after encountering a tiebreaker in the second at 7-4. Using that momentum, she faced little resistance in the last set for a final of 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. Chogsomjav is a perfect 4-0 in three set conference matches this season.
Kulhava clinched the match for the Cats with a win over Valletta in the no. 4 position. She swept her opponent to start and kept her composure after a back-and-forth second set for a 6-0, 6-4 win. She is now 5-1 in straight sets in conference play.
Two Wildcats left their matches unfinished— Santos in a second set while Polakova had just started competing.
Santos stumbled in her first set to Roberts in the no. 5 spot but was trending in the right direction at stoppage with a score of 2-6, 3-0. Polakova was up 2-1 in the no. 6 position over Lolofie.
Freshman Zhanel Rustemova came up short against Kamper in the no. 1 spot in straight sets, 2-6, 0-6.
K-State will wrap up the regular season on the road at Iowa State (10-9, 4-7 Big 12) on Friday (April 11) at 4 p.m. and against Kansas (12-9, 6-5 Big 12) in the Sunflower Showdown on Sunday (April 13) at 12 p.m.
FROM THE COURTS
Head Coach Jordan Smith
On winning the final home match indoors…
"Happy that we got a win on senior day and obviously went 2-0 this weekend to finish at home. You know, it's been tough on our indoor home matches, so the fact that we could finish with a win indoors shows our team that we can do it. You know, we just keep preaching that we got to control what we can control, we can't get worried about what other people are doing, so I think they did that this weekend. And you know, two quality teams that we had that pushed us so happy with how we played. Quick turnaround to finish on the road and then conference, so hopefully we can finish strong and give ourselves a chance to go strong, deep in postseason."
On facing Iowa State and Kansas to finish the regular season…
"The parity in the conference is unbelievable this year. You know, obviously, having 16 teams, more conference matches, anything can happen. Yeah, I think we're neck and neck with both those teams, so we know they're going to bring it, not going to be easy. But it's a challenge and we know if we can rise to a challenge we're going to do really well, but nothing's going to come easy against either one of those teams."
Utah vs K-State
Body First Tennis Center
Manhattan, Kan.
#62 K-State 4, Utah 1
Singles Competition
1. Emma Kamper (UU) def. Zhanel Rustemova (KSU) 6-2, 6-0
2. Maralgoo Chogsomjav (KSU) def. Sara Akid (UU) 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
3. Charlotte Keitel (KSU) def. Kaila Barksdale (UU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Veronika Kulhava (KSU) def. Emma Valletta (UU) 6-0, 6-4
5. Maria Santos (KSU) vs Hayley Roberts (UU) 2-6, 3-0, unfinished
6. Tereza Polakova (KSU) vs Dylan Lolofie (UU) 2-1, unfinished
Doubles Competition
1. Maralgoo Chogsomjav/Charlotte Keitel (KSU) def. Emma Kamper/Hayley Roberts (UU) 6-1
2. Sara Akid/Emma Valletta (UU) def. Sana Garakani/Tereza Polakova (KSU) 6-3
3. Veronika Kulhava/Maria Santos (KSU) def. Samantha Harwood/Dylan Lolofie (UU) 7-5
-- k-statesports.com --
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), Instagram and Facebook.
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K-State Tennis Practice highlights
Tuesday, September 02
Sana Garakani Senior Day Video
Thursday, April 24
K-State Tennis | Senior Thank Yous - Veronika Kulhava
Monday, April 21
Veronika Kulhuva Senior Video
Friday, April 18