K-State tennis went 1-1 over the weekend as the team fell to Denver before coming back and taking down SMU on Sunday. Both matches were close and came down to the wire.
The Wildcats dropped a heartbreaker on Friday to Denver, losing 4-3.
K-State did not get off to a good start, as they lost the doubles point to begin the day.
“We did not make the right choices in the doubles early on, and against good teams we simply cannot afford to do that,” K-State head coach Danielle Steinberg said to K-State Sports. “Obviously the doubles point was huge today and ultimately cost us the match. I think we are a strong doubles team, but we have to be stubborn about our game plan and make the right choices.”
In the singles portion of the match, No. 4 singles player junior Iva Bago got the first victory for the Wildcats. She won in a three-set match with scores of 7-6, 5-7 and 10-7.
Freshman Millie Stretton got the next victory in the No. 5 spot in straight sets with scores of 6-4 in both sets. Junior Livia Cirnu brought home the final victory of the day for K-State on Friday, winning 6-2 and 6-1.
K-State rebounded Sunday after Friday’s loss, defeating No. 50 SMU 4-3 in a back-and-forth match. It was the team’s first win over a ranked opponent this season.
After being moved inside because of the strong winds, K-State turned it around from Friday and won the doubles point to get the match off to a good start.
No. 2 singles player freshman Ana Garcia Navas got the first singles victory for the Wildcats with scores of 6-7, 7-5 and 6-1. Stretton got the third point of the day at the No. 5 singles with a straight-set victory. Cirnu clinched the victory for K-State at the No. 6 singles, winning in three sets after dropping the first set 5-7. She won the the final two sets by scores of 6-2 and 6-1.
After this weekend, the Wildcats have a record of 7-4 as they head into Big 12 play on Thursday. They host Baylor at 3 p.m. Thursday as they wrap up their current home stand.
