MANHATTAN - Kansas State will look to continue its season-high three-match win streak this weekend at Oklahoma State (Friday) and Oklahoma (Saturday). This will be the start of an eight-match road trip, which will last until mid-April. The road string equals the longest trip in school history, set in 1985 from March 11 to April 2. K-State is 0-2 on the road this season and will be looking for its first Big 12 road win since April 12, 2003 when the Wildcats dropped in-state rival Kansas, 5-2.

The Wildcats dismantled the Lady Raiders of Texas Tech 5-2, last Saturday. After dropping the doubles’ point, K-State stormed back to capture three straight singles points. The win was sealed after freshman Tereza Prochazkova defeated Katja Kovacic, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, in the number five position.  
  
Oklahoma State: At a Glance
The Cowgirls are currently 3-6 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12 under head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski. Lubicz-Majewski has amassed 221 careeer wins in his 16 seasons at the helm of the Oklahoma State program. This season the Cowgirls are led by freshman Iryna Tkachenko at the number one singles position with an 8-1 mark. The Kiev, Ukraine native, is 2-1 in Big 12 play and 3-1 this year against ranked foes.

In the 31 previous meetings between the schools, K-State is 3-28, winning once in Stillwater (1-12). The victory came in the 2003 season, 5-2 on Macrh 9. The two other victories for the Wildcats came on a neutral court. 

Oklahoma: At a Glance
The Sooners are currently 8-4 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 matches under head coach Mark Johnson. In his 17 seasons as the leader of Sooner women’s tennis, Johnson has notched a 270-128 career record. Leading has played in singles positions two through five this spring. The Sooners have played 16 different combinations in doubles play, accumulating an overall record of 15-12.

In the 25 meetings between the schools, K-State is 7-18 with a 3-9 mark in Norman.

The Long and Winding Road
The eight-match road trip K-State is about to embark on equals the longest trip in school history, set from March 11 to April 2 in 1985. Here are some items to ponder about the two streaks.
K-State will play six conference matches and two non-conference matches over the course of the 38 days. The 1985 voyage lasted 23 days. Eerily, both trips started March  11.

Three of the four freshmen on the Wildcat roster were not even born yet. Tereza   Prochazkova was born April 29, 1985; Tamar Kvaratskhelia was born Sept. 19, 1986 and  Fernanda Da Valle was born Sept. 23, 1986. Freshman Olga Klimova was just eight   days old when the streak began (March 3, 1985).

Two opponents appear in 1985 and in 2005, Kansas and Texas-Arlington. The Wildcats  defeated the Mavericks, 6-2, but lost to the Jayhawks, 8-1.

K-State had a men’s tennis team. Cuurent Wildcat head coach Steve Bietau was at the  helm of both squads. The men’s and women’s teams were both coming off identical 5- 14 records.

Bietau had brown, flowing hair and a moustache at the time of the  1985 road trip.  It’s amazing what happens over the course of 20 years. 

Kvaratskhelia Fastest to 20 Wins Since 2000
Freshman Tamar Kvaratskhelia won her 20th singles match last weekend, defeating Janet Durham of Texas Tech, 6-1, 6-1. The win by the Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia native is the first time a freshman has won 20 singles matches since K-State career singles win leader Petra Sedlmajerova registered a 22-10 record over the course of the 1999-2000 season. 

Earlier in the season, Kvaratskhelia broke Sedlmajerova’s freshman winning streak with 11 straight match wins.

Rosenberg Earns 74th Career Singles Win
Maria Rosenberg is now just four wins short of the K-State career singles win record, currently held by Petra Sedlmajerova from 1999-2003 with 77 career singles wins. The Manhattan, Kan., native defeated Cigdem Duru of Texas Tech 6-3, 6-0 last Saturday.

Final Number: 13
Number of 20-win seasons by K-State singles players over the last 10 years. The 2001 season featured three: Eva Novotna (23-10), Alena Jecminkova (21-12) and Petra Sedlmajerova (20-13).