The Other Sports: This Week in K-State Athletics

K-State Volleyball

For a team that was poised to break into the top 25 after last week, this week could not have gone worse.

First was an exhibition match against Italy's Under-23 team on Tuesday in Manhattan. K-State lost in five sets, but won the first two. The Wildcats used a lot of different lineups and were playing under international rules, so this loss isn't worth getting too upset over.

More concerning was Friday's loss at West Virginia in the Big 12 opener. West Virginia has only one loss on the season, but they have played absolutely nobody and still lost to Duquesne. This is not the kind of loss K-State wants on its resume come tournament time.

K-State returns to Manhattan for two matches at Ahearn Fieldhouse this week. First up is the Sunflower Showdown, as K-State welcomes KU to Manhattan on Wednesday. The Jayhawks swept the season series last year for the first time in approximately forever, so K-State will be looking to gain back in-state supremacy. On Saturday, Texas Christian visits Manhattan.

K-State Women's Golf

K-State couldn't catch up to KU on the final day of the Wildcats' home invitational last week. KU fired a final-day 308 to finish the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational at +46, with K-State 16 shots in arrears. Tulsa was another 15 shots behind K-State. Olivia Eliasson once again led the Wildcats, finishing tied for third at 230 (+14).

The Wildcats head to Austin, Texas, this week for The Challenge at Onion Creek. Texas Tech and KU will also send their teams to the invite, and Baylor will send a few individual players.

K-State Men's Golf

After a rough opening day, K-State rebounded with a final-round 290 to move up to 13th in a 19-team field at the St. Mary's Invitational last week. Daniel Wood led the Wildcats, overcoming a first-round 80 by shooting 71-68 in the final two rounds to finish tied for 10th.

K-State will be host to the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate at Colbert Hills Golf Course this week. This will be coach Tim Norris' final home invitational.

K-State Women's Tennis

After hosting its home invitational, K-State traveled to Bloomington, Ind., for the Hoosier Classic. The Wildcats tallied eight singles victories on the weekend, competing against players from Indiana, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Cincinnati.

Senior Petra Niedermayerova is the No. 12 singles player in the country, and will play in the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships in California next week. The full squad does not have another meet until mid-October.

K-State Equestrian

It was a top-five showdown last weekend, as No. 5 K-State welcomed No. 4 Oklahoma State to Manhattan for a showdown at Timbercreek Stables. In a competition that went right down to the final event, the Wildcats eked out an 11-9 victory over the Cowgirls.