FRESNO, Calif. Maria Rosenberg and Paulina Castellejos’ No. 1 doubles win proved to the lone bright spot on the day as the Kansas State women’s tennis team was defeated by No. 27 Oregon, 7-0, Monday at Fresno State’s Wathen Tennis Center.

The loss, K-State’s fifth in a row, dropped the Wildcats’ record to 3-7 on the season. Oregon, which has now won two straight, improved to 11-7 with the victory.

“Our No. 1 doubles team has been one spot we have been able to count on most of the season,” said K-State head coach Steve Bietau. “It was good to see them playing better again after the disappointing performance they had against Kansas. The Nos. 2 and 3 doubles positions, however, continue to be a puzzle without a solution.”

Despite K-State’s win at No. 1, Oregon stormed back to take the doubles point as the tandem of Dominika Dieskova and Anna Leksinska defeated Jessica Simosa and Hayley McIver 8-3 on court two and Ester Bak and Jamie Marshall knocked off Judith Diaz and Emily Mickelson on court three.

The Ducks then swept all six singles matches to sew up the win, despite a number of pitched battles.

Straight-set wins by Leksinska and Bak on courts five and six, respectively, put Oregon in an early position to clinch the match. But K-State hung tough to the end. Rosenberg took eighth-ranked Daria Panova to the wire in a hard-fought 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 loss at No. 1 and McIver battled Marshall to tie-breaker before falling 6-7(2), 7-6(7), 1-0(4) at No. 4.

“We had some hard fought matches in the singles,” Bietau said. “At No. 1, Panova shifted into a higher gear after the first set. Maria played a good solid match; however, it became clear as the match went on why Panova is ranked where she is. She really picked it up in the second set and never looked back. Throughout the lineup Oregon was solid. They competed well at every position and although our team fought hard they were too much to handle today.”

Kansas State returns to the courts at the Wathen Tennis Center on Tuesday when the Wildcats take on No. 14 Fresno State.

Women’s College Tennis

March 22, 2004

No. 27 Oregon 7, No. 74 Kansas State 0

Wathen Tennis Center

Fresno, Calif.

Singles

1 Daria Panova (UO) def. Maria Rosenberg (K-State) 5-7,6-1,6-2

2 Dominika Dieskova (UO) def. Jessica Simosa (K-State) 6-4, 7-6(0)

3 Darina Mendiburn (UO) def. Paulina Castillejos (K-State) 7-6(4), 6-3

4 Jamie Marshall (UO) def. Hayley McIver (K-State) 6-7(2), 7-6(7), 1-0(4)

5 Anna Leksinska (UO) def. Judith Diaz (K-State) 6-2,6-3

6 Ester Bak (UO) def. Aveen Alkhatib (K-State) 6-1,6-0

Doubles (Oregon wins double point, 2-1)

1 Rosenberg/Castillejos (K-State) def. Panova/Mendiburn (UO) 8-6

2 Dieskova/leksinska (UO) def. Simosa/McIver (K-State) 8-3   

3 Bak/Marshall (UO) def. Diaz/Mickelson (K-State) 8-1