"Credit KJ (Karine-Marion Job)," said head coach Jordan Smith. "This is the second time since the Nebraska match she has been in a situation that the team needed her to come through. A lot of times early in her career, it was easy for her to get down and go the other way. She stayed consistent, stayed positive and calm, and I am just proud of her. That is a great team effort. Everyone did well."
The Wildcats, who led 3-0 in the early stages for singles play, faltered in the No. 2 and 4 positions to allow the Pioneers back into the match. With the tides turning, Job came through with a comeback in the final set with a 6-4 win. Trailing 3-4 in the third set, Job battled through volley after volley to regain the lead from Nelville. Job's 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 outing pushed the Wildcats to four points, resulting in a sweep of their two home matches this weekend.
Job's win in the No. 1 spot snapped an 0-6 drought against ITA ranked opponents, as Nelville came into Saturday's contest listed as the No. 117 player in the ITA National Singles poll.
"These last matches have been great," said Job. "I've been playing good. Not perfect, but good. I hope to keep playing at that level."
For the second-straight outing, K-State captured the doubles point, as Job and teammate Maria Linares took down the Pioneers' No. 36 ranked pairing in the No. 1 position, Taylor Nelville and Hada Chang, with a 6-1 upset win. The duo of senior Lilla Barzo and freshman Manami Ukita excelled from the No. 3 spot with a 6-0 victory over Denver's Anna Riedmiller and Tatum Burger, which lifted K-State to a 1-0 advantage entering singles' competition.
"That was one heck of a doubles point on two of our courts," said Smith. "That carried the momentum over to singles. A ranked win for KJ and Maria (Linares) and Manami and Lilla came out and owned it in their second match together."
Junior Anna Turco delivered from the No. 6 spot for K-State, as the Mondovi, Italy, native posted a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) score line to boost the Wildcats' lead to 3-0 midway through the match. With the victory, Turco owns a 2-0 mark in the No. 6 spot for dual-match play.
Playing out of the No. 4 spot in singles' competition, Ukita scorched her way past Denver's Tatum Berger in two sets, 6-2, 6-1, to stay unbeaten at home. Her victory on Saturday improves her singles record to 13-4 for 2020-21.
After an impressive outing in doubles play, Linares nearly pulled off a nice win from the No. 2 position, where she fell just short to the Pioneers' Anna Riedmiller at a score of 6-4, 3-6, 1-6.
Over the two-day stretch inside Body First Tennis Center, K-State faltered in just two singles matchups against Drake and Denver.
K-State will return to the Body First Tennis Center on Friday, February 19 to compete against in-state rival Wichita State at 1 p.m., CT and then will play host to Arizona on Sunday, February 21 at 12 p.m., CT.
"It felt great to back at home," Smith stated. "We are going to be here next week against Arizona and Wichita State. We need to bring energy and have the mental endurance to play in here, which I know we have."
K-State vs. Denver
February 13, 2021
Body First Tennis Center
Doubles Play
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
1. No. 46 Karine-Marion Job/Maria Linares (KSU) def. No. 36 Taylor Melville/Hada Chang (DEN) 6-1
2. Camille V-Anderson/Britt Pursell (DEN) def. Margot Decker/Ioana Gheorghita (KSU) 6-2
3. Lilla Barzo/Manami Ukita (KSU) def. Anna Riedmiller/Tatum Burger (DEN) 6-0
Singles Play:
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 2, 3, 1
No. 1. Karine-Marion Job (KSU) def. No. 117 Taylor Melville (DEN) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
No. 2. Anna Riedmiller (DEN) def. Maria Linares (KSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 3. Britt Pursell (DEN) def. Margot Decker (KSU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 4. Manami Ukita (KSU) def. Tatum Burger (DEN) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5. Lilla Barzo (KSU) vs. Camille V-Anderson (DEN) 4-6, 2-1, unfinished
No. 6. Anna Turco (KSU) def. Toni Nelson (DEN) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
For the latest on K-State tennis follow @kstatesports and @KStateTEN on Twitter or K-State Women's Tennis on Facebook.
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