The Kansas State tennis team took one match during the Big 12 Championships, defeating No. 8 TCU in its first match-up 4-2, but lost in its second and final to No. 1 Oklahoma, 4-0.
On Thursday, April 21, the Wildcats took on TCU for the chance to face off against the No. 1 ranked Big 12 team, the Oklahoma Sooners. The day started in doubles, where the Horned Frogs took the lead.
In the first match to finish, the senior duo of Maria Linares and Karine-Marion Job took on TCU’s Alisa Soloveva and Jade Otway. Linares and Job fell 6-2 as TCU took the advantage.
Senior Ioana Gheorghita and sophomore Manami Ukita were taken to the very end by Isabel Pascual and Mercedes Aristegui. The match-up ended up going in a tiebreaker, where Gheoghita and Ukita won 7-4, winning the set 7-6 and setting up the last doubles match as the deciding point.
The final doubles match was nearly as close as the second one. Senior Anna Turco and freshman Florentine Dekkers went up against Stevie Kennedy and Aleksa Cveticanin. This match also led to a tiebreaker, but the Horned Frogs took the tiebreaker 7-1, winning the set 7-6 and earning TCU their first point.
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After TCU earned its point, the match went to singles where the Wildcats took the day, starting with Job.
Job went up against Pascual in the first singles match to finish. Job took each set, winning 6-4, 6-1, tying the day at one point apiece.
TCU won its second and final point in the second singles match. Dekkers fell to TCU’s Aristegui 6-4, 6-1, as TCU took a 2-1 lead.
The Wildcats tied things back up with the help of Gheorghita. Going up against Kennedy, Gheorghita won in two sets, 6-3, 6-3, and the Wildcats didn’t look back.
Continuing with the two-set matches was Linares. She took the first set 6-2 against Soloveva, but the second frame was much closer. Avoiding a tiebreaker, Linares won the second set 7-5 and put the Wildcats one point away from a match-up with the Sooners.
Turco finished the day against the Horned Frogs. Losing the first set 6-1, Turco took the final sets 6-3, 6-3, giving the Wildcats their final point and setting up for a match against the Sooners on Friday, April 22.
Day two for the Wildcats didn’t go as well as day one in the Big 12 tournament.
Starting in doubles, Dekkers and Turco fell to Anchisa Chanta and Dana Guzman 6-3 in the first match to finish.
The second match to finish looked very similar to the first. Linares and Job lost to Ivana Corley and Carmen Corley 6-3 as well, as Oklahoma took its first point.
In singles, the Sooners continued their success. Job’s match was the first to finish as she lost to Chanta 6-2, 6-2 in the Sooners’ second point.
In the second singles match to finish, Turco faced off against Sooner Alexandra Pisareva. The match finished in two sets as Turco lost 6-3, 6-4, setting up the final point for Oklahoma.
In the final match to finish, Linares faced off against Layne Sleeth. Sleeth won 6-4, 6-2 as the Sooners advanced to the next round in the tournament.
Senior Rosanna Maffei, Gheorghita and Dekkers did not finish their singles matches.
The Texas Longhorns took down the Oklahoma Sooners in the championship 4-2 on Sunday, April 24. The Wildcats finished their season with a 10-13 record.
