Kansas State opened its final road trip of the regular season with a loss against No. 19 UCF on April 3 and ended it with a loss against No. 41 Houston on April 5. These two losses now extend the Wildcats’ losing streak to eight matches, with the team’s last win being in early March.
The nationally ranked Knights halted K-State from securing the opening point. Wildcat duo Maralgoo Chogsomjav and Martaa Chogsomjav held a late advantage before the match went unfinished. K-State’s No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams fell short as well, allowing UCF to claim an early lead.
Diana Smolinska earned the Wildcats’ lone team point in singles play. She narrowly dropped the first set, but bounced back in the second before her opponent was forced to stop due to an injury. Other singles contests featured competitive stretches for K-State. Varvara Bernovich pushed for a decisive third set but ultimately dropped the match, and Chanel Rustemova, along with Sasha Kyselova, both fell short in two sets.
Maralgoo Chogsomjac delivered one of the strongest performances of the day. Before play was halted following the finalization of team results, she won a set tiebreak. The Knights would go on to win 4-1.
The conclusion of K-State’s road games came against the No. 41 Houston Cougars. It started with the Wildcats dropping the doubles point for the fourth consecutive match. Despite the setback, the purple lineup showed resilience in singles.
Maralgoo Chogsomjav provided K-State’s lone victory of the match, earning straight-set wins at the No. 1 spot for singles. The junior maintained pace throughout the match and secured her first singles win since late March.
Elsewhere in singles play, multiple Wildcats were competitive deep into the matches. Martaa Chogsomjav captured the opening set, but the match was left unfinished. Bernovich also split sets before play was halted.
Eventually, Houston secured its remaining points with straight set wins across the middle of the lineup, sealing the match once and for all with a score of 4-1.
K-State will return to Mike Goss Tennis Stadium to wrap up Big 12 play against Iowa State on April 10 and No. 39 Kansas on April 12.
