Once again, the Texas Longhorns proved to be too much for the K-State women's tennis team.
The second-seeded and No. 20-ranked Longhorns defeated the Wildcats, 4-0, Friday in College Station, Texas. Coach Steve Bietau said the growth has been a work in progress.
"I really wondered when we could start putting things together," he said. "You always hoped it would be sooner. But the last three weeks the team has showed a lot of growth and progress; they were playing their best at the end. Vivi [Yrureta] and a couple of freshmen had great seasons. When you're 10th in conference, you want to do better. I was happy about our performance in the conference tournament and progress that was made in the last month."
For the third time in four seasons, the Wildcats advanced to the Big 12 Conference tournament quarterfinals. The Wildcats defeated Nebraska, 4-3 on Thursday, to advance.
The match against the Longhorns had its tempo determined quickly. At No. 1 doubles, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's No. 28-ranked doubles team of Vanja Corovic and Marija Milic defeated senior Olga Klimova and junior Katerina Kudlackova, 8-2. Texas' No. 2 duo of Stephanie Davison and Caroline Larsson followed that up with an 8-5 victory over freshmen Vanessa Cottin and Antea Huljev. Since Texas had already captured the doubles point, the No. 3 doubles match of Maggie Mello and Courtney Zauft against sophomore Natasha Vieira and senior Viviana Yrureta was not finished.
"We were just short of what we needed to be," Bietau said. "I expected a stronger, more focused effort from Texas than the first time and it was the case. We played well, but Texas was better."
Singles play proved to be a continuation of the doubles efforts for each team. Sarah Lancaster quickly dispatched freshman Pauline Guemas at No. 6 singles, 6-3, 6-1. Davison then defeated Kudlackova at No. 3 singles, 6-0, 6-1. The match was clinched when ITA's No. 59-ranked Corovic topped Yrureta, 6-2, 6-2. Huljev, Cottin and Vieira's matches were not finished.
"We just weren't strong enough to get the job done, most was credit to them," Bietau said.
The loss to the Longhorns ended the careers of Yrureta and Klimova. Yrureta capped her season with a 17-16 singles record. She defeated Nebraska's Imke Reimers, Thursday, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (10). Klimova, who has been frequently injured throughout her career, posted a 10-15 double mark with Kudlackova during the regular season. The duo avenged an earlier loss to Nebraska's No. 52-ranked Reimers and Jana Albers, by defeating them 8-5 Thursday.
A majority of the Wildcats line-up will return for the 2008-09 season. Huljev will look to improve upon a 16-17 singles mark. Vieira will enter the ranks of the veterans after posting a 10-22 singles record. All five returning Wildcats are letterwinners.
"The biggest thing was getting the culture and attitude turned around," he said. "We've made progress there. Having Katka [Kudlackova], a successful, quiet leader and the freshmen making progress they've had, I'm optimistic. There will be plenty of questions with possibly four freshman and a new assistant coach, but with a core group we have I feel like we'll be in a good position."
