Shortly before the rest of Kansas State’s students returned from winter break, the K-State women’s tennis team traveled down the road to Lawrence to compete in the Jayhawk Invitational, the Wildcats’ first tournament of the new year.

K-State, Kansas, Iowa State and Memphis were the four schools that competed in the action-packed tournament, which was a three-day event spanning from Jan. 15-17.

On the first day, K-State faced Iowa State and won four matches across singles and doubles play. Dominating the day for the ‘Cats were the Chogsomjav sisters, who each won their singles matches and also won when playing as a double.

Chanel Rustemova was the only other Wildcat to win on the first day of competition, winning her singles match 6-4, 7-5.

On day two of the event, K-State faced off against Memphis and showed out in dominating fashion, winning all seven matches against the Tigers.

The Chogsomjav sisters kept their win streaks alive as they won both of their singles matches and, when paired up, dominated in doubles as they did on day one. 

The other singles match victors were Sasha Kyselova and Diana Somlinska, who each won their matches in three sets, and Rustemova, who won her match in two sets, dropping one game in the contest.

On day three, the Wildcats faced their rival — the Kansas Jayhawks, but struggled, prevailing in just one match. The win came from Martaa Chogsomjav, who won her singles match in two sets.

“We competed well the first two days and took a drop today,” K-State head coach Jordan Smith said. “It was expected, considering how little we’ve had to practice after a month off for break. Despite not having a full squad, I was proud of the intent and effort that our ladies brought to this event.”

Adding to the struggles of day three, junior Maralgoo Chogsomjav was in the final set of her singles match when she sustained an injury, cutting it short.

Even with the final day not going the way the Wildcats wanted, K-State finished 13-13 overall in the invitational, which was a good step forward coming out of the break.

The Wildcats will now focus their attention on the Clemson Tigers, who won four of their five contests since returning from winter break. Their lone loss came to #16-ranked Tennessee, where the Volunteers snuck away with a 4-3 win. 

Clemson will be stiff competition for the young K-State squad, but it will offer valuable experience before Big 12 play gets underway in a month.

K-State will face Clemson on Friday, Jan. 30th, in Kansas City.