Kansas State University Athletics
Thursday, April 3
Manhattan, Kan.
4 p.m.
Kansas State University
4
vs
3
BYU
Wildcats Respond in Ranked Battle With 4-3 Win Over #55 BYU
Apr 03, 2025 | Tennis
K-State is 1-1 against BYU and back at .500 in conference play
MANHATTAN, Kan.- The K-State women's tennis team began the last home stand on Thursday (April 3) in a ranked battle, resulting in a 4-3 win over BYU at Mike Goss Tennis Stadium. The Wildcats are once again .500 in conference matches this season.
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#62 K-State (8-9, 5-5 Big 12) dropped the doubles point for the third straight match, but responded in three singles matches over the #55 BYU Cougars (16-7, 6-4 Big 12) with three-set match wins. The two teams are now 1-1 in series history.
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Junior Sana Garakani and sophomore Tereza Polakova competed in the no. 2 spot for the first time since February 28 against UCF, falling to Yujia Huang and Sue Yan Tan, 1-6. Playing for the first time as a pair, freshman Zhanel Rustemova and junior Maria Santos fell short in similar fashion, 1-6, to Grace Levelston and Madison Smith in the no. 3 position.
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Sophomores Maralgoo Chogsomjav and Charlotte Keitel did not finish their match in the no. 1 spot to Chelsea Bluestein and Kendall Kovic at 2-5.
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K-State earned a point early in singles play as senior Veronika Kulhava faced Bluestein who retired the match as Kulhava was up 4-0 in the first set in the no. 4 spot, tying the match at one point apiece.
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Polakova clinched the match for the Wildcats in three sets over Smith in the no. 6 position. After dropping the first set she battled back in a high scoring tiebreaker at 7-5 before dominating her opponent in the last set for a final score of 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Polakova also earned the winning point for K-State on March 21 against Arizona and is now 3-1 in three-set matches this spring.
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Santos won her first three-set match in dual action playing in the no. 5 position. Against Yan Tan, she quickly won the first set 6-1 but then fell in the second with a similar score. After back-and-forth points in the third set she came around for the win at 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. This was Santos' 15th win of the season.
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After going unfinished in two of her last four three-set matches, Keitel was victorious in the no. 3 spot with her first win in three sets in dual matches. She dropped her first set against Kovick but with a 6-3 win in the second she forced a third and final set where she came out on top at 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Keitel is back in the win column for the first time since March 9 against West Virginia.
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Rustemova won a set for the first time since March 21 against Arizona, her last three set match of the season. Playing in the no. 1 position, she faced Huang and started off the match with a 6-4 win. Rustemova stumbled in the second set without any points before battling back in the last set where she fell short by just two points at 6-4, 0-6, 4-6.
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Playing in the no. 2 spot for the first time since February 15 against Auburn, Chogsomjav fell short in straight sets to Levelston. After dropping a first set tiebreaker of 1-7, she was unable to rally in the second with a final of 6-7 (1-7), 3-6. That match against the Tigers was also her last loss of the season as she is now 5-1 in conference play.
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K-State will compete in the final match at home on Saturday (April 5) at 12 p.m., against Utah (7-12, 2-8 Big 12) with Senior Day for Kulhava and Garakani.
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FROM THE COURTS
Head Coach Jordan Smith
On how the team responded after a slow start to doubles…
"Really happy with how we did after that start. We weren't ourselves in doubles, and we know that, we've played some better doubles points. But I know just coming off the road and just coming off a couple of losses, I know that was probably hard and took longer for us to shift, but we just said, 'Hey, we have to make a shift and we have to give our best.' And that was probably the best energy from our team that we've had and that was really awesome to see. It helped on every court, and we were competitive, and so that's how we were able to be to get team like BYU."
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On changes to the lineup late in the season…
"We're just trying to put ourselves in the position to win. You know, there's some spots we're doing better than others. You know, no sacrifices, we're just trying to find what's the winning formula. And as a coach, I feel like it's never too late to keep making changes if it's going to help us be successful, and it helped today. So hopefully we can keep doing that, and we'll keep making changes later if we need to."
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BYU vs K-State
Mike Goss Tennis Stadium
Manhattan, Kan.
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#62 K-State 4, #55 BYU 3
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Singles Competition
1. Yujia Huang (BYU) def. Zhanel Rustemova (KSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-4
2. Grace Levelston (BYU) def. Maralgoo Chogsomjav (KSU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
3. Charlotte Keitel (KSU) def. Kendall Kovick (BYU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Veronika Kulhava (KSU) def. Chelsea Bluestein (BYU) 4-0 [ret.]
5. Maria Santos (KSU) def. Sue Yan Tan (BYU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
6. Tereza Polakova (KSU) def. Madison Smith (BYU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
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Doubles Competition
1. Maralgoo Chogsomjav/Charlotte Keitel (KSU) vs Chelsea Bluestein/Kendall Kovick (BYU) 2-5, unfinished
2. Yujia Huang/Sue Yan Tan (BYU) def. Sana Garakani/Tereza Polakova (KSU) 6-1
3. Grace Levelston/Madison Smith (BYU) def. Zhanel Rustemova/Maria Santos (KSU) 6-1
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How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Women's Tennis Team, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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#62 K-State (8-9, 5-5 Big 12) dropped the doubles point for the third straight match, but responded in three singles matches over the #55 BYU Cougars (16-7, 6-4 Big 12) with three-set match wins. The two teams are now 1-1 in series history.
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Junior Sana Garakani and sophomore Tereza Polakova competed in the no. 2 spot for the first time since February 28 against UCF, falling to Yujia Huang and Sue Yan Tan, 1-6. Playing for the first time as a pair, freshman Zhanel Rustemova and junior Maria Santos fell short in similar fashion, 1-6, to Grace Levelston and Madison Smith in the no. 3 position.
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Sophomores Maralgoo Chogsomjav and Charlotte Keitel did not finish their match in the no. 1 spot to Chelsea Bluestein and Kendall Kovic at 2-5.
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K-State earned a point early in singles play as senior Veronika Kulhava faced Bluestein who retired the match as Kulhava was up 4-0 in the first set in the no. 4 spot, tying the match at one point apiece.
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Polakova clinched the match for the Wildcats in three sets over Smith in the no. 6 position. After dropping the first set she battled back in a high scoring tiebreaker at 7-5 before dominating her opponent in the last set for a final score of 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Polakova also earned the winning point for K-State on March 21 against Arizona and is now 3-1 in three-set matches this spring.
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Santos won her first three-set match in dual action playing in the no. 5 position. Against Yan Tan, she quickly won the first set 6-1 but then fell in the second with a similar score. After back-and-forth points in the third set she came around for the win at 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. This was Santos' 15th win of the season.
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After going unfinished in two of her last four three-set matches, Keitel was victorious in the no. 3 spot with her first win in three sets in dual matches. She dropped her first set against Kovick but with a 6-3 win in the second she forced a third and final set where she came out on top at 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Keitel is back in the win column for the first time since March 9 against West Virginia.
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Rustemova won a set for the first time since March 21 against Arizona, her last three set match of the season. Playing in the no. 1 position, she faced Huang and started off the match with a 6-4 win. Rustemova stumbled in the second set without any points before battling back in the last set where she fell short by just two points at 6-4, 0-6, 4-6.
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Playing in the no. 2 spot for the first time since February 15 against Auburn, Chogsomjav fell short in straight sets to Levelston. After dropping a first set tiebreaker of 1-7, she was unable to rally in the second with a final of 6-7 (1-7), 3-6. That match against the Tigers was also her last loss of the season as she is now 5-1 in conference play.
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K-State will compete in the final match at home on Saturday (April 5) at 12 p.m., against Utah (7-12, 2-8 Big 12) with Senior Day for Kulhava and Garakani.
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FROM THE COURTS
Head Coach Jordan Smith
On how the team responded after a slow start to doubles…
"Really happy with how we did after that start. We weren't ourselves in doubles, and we know that, we've played some better doubles points. But I know just coming off the road and just coming off a couple of losses, I know that was probably hard and took longer for us to shift, but we just said, 'Hey, we have to make a shift and we have to give our best.' And that was probably the best energy from our team that we've had and that was really awesome to see. It helped on every court, and we were competitive, and so that's how we were able to be to get team like BYU."
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On changes to the lineup late in the season…
"We're just trying to put ourselves in the position to win. You know, there's some spots we're doing better than others. You know, no sacrifices, we're just trying to find what's the winning formula. And as a coach, I feel like it's never too late to keep making changes if it's going to help us be successful, and it helped today. So hopefully we can keep doing that, and we'll keep making changes later if we need to."
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BYU vs K-State
Mike Goss Tennis Stadium
Manhattan, Kan.
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#62 K-State 4, #55 BYU 3
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Singles Competition
1. Yujia Huang (BYU) def. Zhanel Rustemova (KSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-4
2. Grace Levelston (BYU) def. Maralgoo Chogsomjav (KSU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
3. Charlotte Keitel (KSU) def. Kendall Kovick (BYU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Veronika Kulhava (KSU) def. Chelsea Bluestein (BYU) 4-0 [ret.]
5. Maria Santos (KSU) def. Sue Yan Tan (BYU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
6. Tereza Polakova (KSU) def. Madison Smith (BYU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
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Doubles Competition
1. Maralgoo Chogsomjav/Charlotte Keitel (KSU) vs Chelsea Bluestein/Kendall Kovick (BYU) 2-5, unfinished
2. Yujia Huang/Sue Yan Tan (BYU) def. Sana Garakani/Tereza Polakova (KSU) 6-1
3. Grace Levelston/Madison Smith (BYU) def. Zhanel Rustemova/Maria Santos (KSU) 6-1
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-- k-statesports.com --
 How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Women's Tennis Team, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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