No. 17 Kansas starts five-match road stretch
No. 17 Kansas starts five-match road stretch
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 17-ranked Kansas junior Nina Khmelnitckaia brings her six-match win streak to the Jayhawks’ two away matches this weekend against No. 16 Texas Tech and TCU.
KU (9-4, 1-1) will start its five-match road stint in Lubbock, Texas, against the Red Raiders (10-3) at 5 p.m., Friday at the McLeod Tennis Center. The Jayhawks will then head to Fort Worth where they will face TCU (9-6) at 2 p.m., Sunday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Khmelnitckaia holds an 8-4 dual play record at the No. 4 position and is 17-8 overall in singles. Out of her last 10 matches, the Moscow, Russia, native has gone 7-2, with one unfinished contest. Senior and No. 118-ranked Despoina Vogasari carries a five-match win streak into the weekend. She also sits at 8-4 in dual matches, playing at both the No. 1 and 2 spots for the Jayhawks.
Sophomore Maria Toran Ribes competes on court five and owns an 8-5 mark in dual-play matches. Vogasari and Toran Ribes teamed up this spring and have tallied a 6-2 record at the No. 3 doubles position.
“We have two really tough tests this weekend in Texas Tech and TCU,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “Texas Tech won the Big 12 last year and are very good again this year.”
Texas Tech’s match with Kansas will be TTU’s first Big 12 competition of the season. The Red Raiders lead the all-time series with the Jayhawks, 16-9. Their roster is home to an array of nationally-ranked players in both singles and doubles, including No. 11 Gabriela Talaba, No. 41 Felicity Maltby, No. 78 Sabrina Federici and No. 85 Sarah Dvoark. Talaba and Federici each hold a 5-1 dual record, while Maltby is at 5-2 and Dvorak comes in at 6-2.
All four individuals are also ranked in doubles with Dvorak and Federici coming in at No. 8 and Talaba and Maltby as the No. 68-ranked duo. In duals, Dvorak and Federici compete at the No. 1 spot with a 4-2 mark. Playing on court two, Talaba and Maltby have gone 8-2 in dual matches so far this season.
“TCU is extremely tough to beat home, so we definitely have our work cut out for us,” said Chapman. “We look forward to the opportunities in front of this weekend.”
The Horned Frogs lead the overall series against Kansas, 6-1. Last season, the Jayhawks earned their first-ever program win over TCU with a 4-1 win in their Big 12 opener in Lawrence. TCU’s Aleksandra Zenovka is ranked as the No. 84 singles player and has seen time at the No. 1, 2 and 3 positions to record a 7-3 mark in duals. No. 114 Marie Norris has an 8-2 dual-play record from spreading her time between courts three, four and five.
Donika Bashota and Elizabeth Tedford are the nation’s No. 71-ranked team and play at the No. 1 and 2 spots for the Horned Frogs. The duo is 4-3 in dual matches and sit a 5-3 overall.
Live scoring will be available for both both matches. Visit the KU tennis schedule page on KUAthletics.com for more information.
FOLLOW
@KansasTennis
/ KansasTennis
@ KansasTennis
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
