April 18, 2009
Wamego, Kan. - Texas A&M swept all three doubles matches and won four of six singles matches in straight sets to defeat Kansas State, 5-2, today at the Wamego Recreation Complex.
The Aggies, who move to 15-0 all-time against the Wildcats, improve to 12-9 overall and 8-2 in the Big 12 to remain in third place in the league standings. K-State falls to 4-13, 1-9.
Although A&M came away with the match, the results could have easily gone in favor of the Wildcats had the Aggies not had pulled off several come-from-behind victories in singles.
"The 5-2 score really isn't indicative of how close that match was," A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said. "That match was definitely in two parts. I was not really excited with our intensity in the doubles. We came out a little flat, and it was just kind of sloppy. We gave away a few too many points. I didn't think Kansas State took advantage of that even when we came out flat.
"We got into the singles and they were like two different teams. They really jumped on us, and we were down in three or four of the matches to start the first sets. We did not expect that, and I give a lot of credit to Kansas State after losing the doubles point to really come back and play a great match."
A&M picked up its first win at No. 1 doubles where Janelle Cuthbertson and Christi Liles led the entire match en route to an 8-2 victory against Antea Haljev and Nina Sertic.
Sheri Olivier and Elzé Potgieter also never trailed in their match and clinched the doubles point for the Aggies at the No. 3 line. The Aggie duo won its ninth match in the last 10 outings and improved to 15-3 overall with an 8-3 victory over Petra Chuda and Katka Kudlackova.
Stephanie Davidson and Morgan Frank then completed the sweep for A&M, holding off Mariya Slupska and Natasha Vieira, 8-5, at No. 2. It marked the fourth time this season A&M won all three doubles matches.
Unlike the doubles matches, A&M found itself fighting from behind in the early going in singles as the Aggies trailed on four of six courts. K-State quickly tied the score at the start of singles as Vieira raced to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Ashley Turpin at No. 6 singles.
Lauren Santacroce also got down early and trailed Chuda, 3-1, in the first set at No. 5. The Aggie freshman then won three straight games to take her first lead at 4-3. The set was tied at 5-5 when Santacroce caught fire and reeled off eight games in a row to win the match in straight sets and give the Aggies a 2-1 lead.
Potgieter found herself in a deep hole after losing the first five games of the first set against Huljev at No. 1. Just one game away from dropping the set, Potgieter won the next seven games to win the set, 7-5. Potgieter didn't stop there as she extended her game-winning streak to 13, racing to a 6-0 win in the second set and giving the Aggies a 3-1 lead.
Frank clinched the wining point for the Aggies and improved to 9-1 in Big 12 matches with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Slupska at No. 2.
Sertic picked up the Wildcats' only other point, holding off Liles, 6-1, 7-6 (8) at the No. 3 line. Cuthbertson then closed out the match with a win against Kudlackova at No. 4. Cuthbertson won the first set, 6-3, but trailed, 5-3, in the second set. Cuthbertson then won the next four games to close out the match.
"I think a good positive for us is that once we got down in a couple of those matches, we really kind of bowed up and got down to business and started fighting and picking up our game and looking for our opportunities," Kleinecke said. "I thought we did a great job of that, but we needed to have that in order to win that match. Otherwise we would have come away with a loss."
A&M closes out the regular season schedule at Kansas on Sunday. The match will begin at 11 a.m. at First Serve Tennis Center in Lawrence, Kan. Live scoring will be available at AggieAthletics.com.
The Big 12 Tennis Championships will be held April 23-26 at Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla.
(35) Texas A&M 5, Kansas State 2
April 18, 2009
Wamego Recreation Complex
Wamego, Kan.
Attendance: n/a
Singles
1. Elzé Potgieter (A&M) def. Antea Huljev (KSU), 7-5, 6-0
2. Morgan Frank (A&M) def. Mariya Slupska (KSU), 6-4, 6-2
3. Nina Sertic (KSU) def. Christi Liles (A&M), 6-1, 7-6 (8)
4. Janelle Cuthbertson (A&M) def. Katka Kudlackova (KSU), 6-3, 7-5
5. Lauren Santacroce (A&M) def. Petra Chuda (KSU), 7-5, 6-0
6. Natasha Vieira (KSU) def. Ashley Turpin (A&M), 6-1, 6-2
Doubles (A&M wins the point)
1. Cuthbertson/Liles (A&M) def. Huljev/Sertic (KSU), 8-2
2. Stephanie Davidson/Frank (A&M) def. Slupska/Vieira (KSU), 8-5
3. Olivier/Potgieter (A&M) def. Chuda/Kudlackova (KSU), 8-3
Order of finish:
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
Singles: 6, 5, 1, 2*, 3, 4
*Clinched match
Team records: Texas A&M: 12-9, 8-2 Big 12 KSU: 4-13, 1-9 Big 12