June 6, 2003

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Kansas State tennis team, making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Round of 16 this past May, ended the year ranked No. 32 nationally and No. 1 in the Central Region in the final Omni Hotels Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls, released this week. These are the highest final ranks ever for the Wildcats.

Prior to the Wildcats' Cinderella season, the highest ranking they ever received was No. 36 on April 11, 2001, according to the ITA. The highest regular-season ranking K-State received this year was No. 39 on April 9.

In the region, K-State finished ahead of Big 12 Conference opponents Oklahoma State (No. 2), Oklahoma (No. 3), Missouri (No. 4), Colorado (No. 5), Nebraska (No. 10) and Kansas (No. 12).

Individually in the region, Wildcat senior Petra Sedlmajerova finished No. 8 in the singles rankings. K-State's No. 1 in singles finished the year with a 17-14 record. Sophomore Maria Rosenberg was ranked No. 13 and ended her season with a 17-13 mark at No. 2 singles. Freshman Jessica Simosa picked up her first collegiate ranking at No. 21. She was 17-15 at No. 3 for K-State. In doubles, the duo of Sedlmajerova and junior Paulina Castillejos finished No. 4 after ending the year 13-7 at No. 1 doubles.

Kansas State concluded its season with a 15-8 mark, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in school history (1996 & 1998). K-State's season ended with a 4-0 loss to No. 5 Southern California in the NCAA Round of 16 on May 15. Along the way, head coach Steve Bietau's Wildcats won a school record 15 matches and posted a program-best 7-4 Big 12 Conference record.