With postseason play on the horizon, K-State gave itself plenty of reasons to feel confident at Baylor’s H-E-B Invitational from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1. Three Wildcats combined for nine victories over four days in Waco, Texas, leading to a 6-4 record in singles and a 3-1 mark in doubles at the Hurd Tennis Center. The tournament served as the final event before the postseason ITA Central Sectional from Nov. 5-8.
K-State opened to mixed results on Thursday. Sophomore Diana Smolinska began the tournament with a comeback victory over UTSA’s Celine Absawai, rallying from an opening set defeat to win 2-6, 6-3, 10-6. Senior Margaret Jaraczewski earned a straight-set victory over University of Texas at San Antonio’s Katsiaryna Dubik, 6-0, 7-5.
Sophomore Varyna Bernovich suffered the day’s only singles defeat, falling to Baylor’s Ligaya Murray, 6-3, 6-0. The doubles duo of Jaraczewski and Smolinska also dropped its opening match to another UTSA team, Dubik and Aoka Nagasawa, 8-4.
The Wildcats responded well on Friday by posting three victories in four matches. Bernovich bounced back with a 6-2, 6-0 sweep over Rice’s Daniela Chica, while Smolinska maintained her perfect record with a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 victory over UTSA’s Gabriela Felix da Silva. Jaraczewski dropped her singles match to UTSA’s Diana Khaydarshina, 6-2, 6-3, but recovered in doubles with Smolinska to defeat the Baylor duo of Murray and Luna Ivkovic, 6-3.
Momentum continued into the weekend for the ‘Cats with a successful Saturday. Jaraczewski and Smolinska captured the tournament’s most dramatic victory, outlasting Iowa State’s Maria de la Paz Alberto and Alicia Day 8-7 (13-11) in a tiebreaker. Later that afternoon, Smolinska fell to Baylor’s Murray, the second Wildcat she defeated in singles, 6-4, 6-1.
On the same day, two ‘Cats completed comeback singles victories. Bernovich erased an opening-set deficit to defeat Valentina Vargas of Iowa State 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. Jaraczewski added a comeback win of her own, overcoming a second-set shutout to defeat UTSA’s Akari Tomoyose, 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.
The Wildcats closed the tournament Sunday with a doubles win and a singles loss. Jaraczewski and Smolinska defeated UTSA’s Khaydarshina and Laia Tarazona Peyro 8-4 to finish their weekend on a high note with a 3-1 record. Jaraczewski then fell to the hosting Baylor Bears’ Duanrui Gao 6-4, 6-0, to round out the weekend.
Assistant coach Maria Linares said the team’s ability to respond after the opening stood out.
“I am very happy with their performance this week,” Linares said. “It is never easy to bounce back after the first day performance, but I was very pleased with the way they showed up for the rest of the competition. They had challenges where they needed to do things they were not comfortable with, and at the end it worked in their favor. It’s a good way for them to finish their last fall tournament this way.”
The momentum from Waco now shifts to K-State’s final fall event, the ITA Central Sectional Championships. Three players will represent the ‘Cats: freshman Marta Leon in singles and Bernovich and freshman Sabrina Balderrama in doubles. Leon qualified through her performance at the ITA Central Regional, while Bernovich and Balderrama earned selection to compete in the field.
“It’s awesome to have our Wildcats qualify three years in a row,” head coach Jordan Smith said. “I think it says a lot about our consistency in developing our players to be in this position multiple years in a row.”
Smith said the accomplishment is especially encouraging because of the youth of the three players competing.
“We’re a young team and seeing Varya, Sabrina and Marta shine in their first fall seasons with the team has been great,” Smith added. “They know that there is still more work to be done. Excited to see them continue on this week.”
The ITA Central Sectional Championships begin Nov. 5 in Fort Worth, Texas, with a chance to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships in Athens, Georgia on the line.
