In tough meetings against Baylor and TCU, Kansas State would come up short, losing both matchups, 4-2. The Wildcats were hot in doubles play and stayed determined in singles, but weren’t able to generate any wins.
On March 20 versus No. 36 Baylor, the ranked duo of Maragloo Chogsomjav and Martaa Chogsomjav earned a 7-5 win. Following that, Sasha Kyselova and Chanel Rustemova added a 6-3 victory to clinch the point.
K-State carried that momentum into singles play, but couldn’t capitalize in key moments. Five matches went to three sets, with Baylor taking four of them. Freshman Varvara Bernovich provided the Wildcats’ lone singles win, defeating Gabrielle Villegas 6-3, 6-3.
Martaa Chogsomjav rebounded from a first-set shutout to force a third set against No. 37 Na Dong but fell 6-1. Maragloo Chogsomjav and Diana Smolinska also pushed their matches to three sets before coming up short. Baylor would clinch the match 4-2 after Kyselova dropped a tight set as well.
Two days later, against No. 25 TCU, the Wildcats followed a similar script. Consecutive 6-2 wins from the pairs of Bernovich/Smolinska and Kyselova/Rustemova gave K-State the doubles point.
In singles, Maragloo Chogsomjav delivered one of the weekend’s highlights. The K-State talent earned a straight-sets win over Victoria Gomez O’ Hayon, 7-5, 6-4, marking her 10th career two-set conference win.
Unfortunately for K-State, the Horned Frogs controlled the remaining courts. Martaa Chogsomjav fell to No. 74 Raquel Caballero Chica in straight sets after a first-set tiebreak, while Smolinska battled through another three-set match before fading late. Kyselova and Bernovich each dropped straight-set decisions, while Rustemova’s match went unfinished with her in the lead.
Both matches showed that K-State positioned itself to win, particularly through early doubles success and competitive singles play. However, closing out third sets proved to be the key issue for the Wildcats.
“We played well enough to win,” K-State head coach Jordan Smith said. “But we need a little more sense of urgency down the stretch.”
The Wildcats turn their focus to a challenging road swing, as the team travels to face BYU and Utah on March 26 and March 28, looking to convert competitive performances into wins.
