KU Tennis Heads West for Matches against No. 72 Washington State, Santa Clara
Feb. 11, 2011
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
The Pacific Northwest will be the next destination for Kansas women’s tennis, as the Jayhawks travel to Pullman, Wash., for matches against No. 72 Washington State and Santa Clara this weekend.
After nearly sweeping Drake last weekend at the Jayhawk Tennis Facility, KU is looking to build on its strong spring-opening performance. The Jayhawks downed the Bulldogs 6-1, which was highlighted by a comeback performance by freshman Dylan Windom. In her first collegiate dual match, the rookie out of Tifton, Ga., won 11 straight games after falling behind to Jessica LaBarte to earn a hard-fought a three-set win in the No. 5 singles spot.
Defeating this weekend’s opponents will be no easy feat. The Cougars just recently made an appearance in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Rankings after upsetting then No. 73-ranked BYU last weekend in Provo, Utah. Washington State, who reached as high as No. 60 in the ITA Rankings last season, comes into Saturday’s match with a 6-1 record, having lost only to No. 48 Utah.
At the top of the Cougar lineup is Nos. 1 and 2 singles players Liudmila Vasilieva and Elisabeth Fournier, both of whom were in the ITA fall rankings. However, the bottom of the order is talented as well, as freshman Olga Musilovic is undefeated through seven matches at the Nos. 4 and 5 spots.
Santa Clara has been on the upswing after a breakout year 2010 season. Last year, the Broncos went 14-7, finishing fourth in the West Coast Conference and cracking the national rankings for only the second time in school history. Like Washington State, the Broncos have also been outstanding during the early portion of the spring 2011 season, and are putting a perfect 6-0 record on the line this weekend.
The young squad is led by four all-conference sophomores. One of them, Maggie McGeorge, has paced her team with a 5-1 record this spring. Not far behind the No. 5 singles player is team captain Kacie Wagner (4-1 in No. 4 singles) and sophomore Kelly Lamble (4-2 in No. 2 singles).
The Jayhawks will square off against both teams at WSU’s Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. KU will start with a 9 a.m., match against the Cougars Saturday, and follow it up with another matinee contest against the Broncos Sunday.
