Jayhawk Tennis Heads to Des Moines for Weekend Duals

Feb. 23, 2012

LAWRENCE, Kan.—Riding high with its best start since the 1991-92 season, the University of Kansas women’s tennis team hits the road for a pair of dual meets in Des Moines, Iowa this weekend. The Jayhawks, who are 5-0 in dual competition, will face the Drake Bulldogs (9-1) Saturday at 5 p.m. and the Montana Grizzlies (5-2) Sunday at 11 a.m.

Last Time Out
KU won its fifth-straight dual last weekend when the team notched a 6-1 victory over the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans Sunday at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.

Kansas continues to be led by spectacular doubles play as the Jayhawks again swept the doubles matches with the No. 1 tandem of sophomore Dylan Windom and freshman Maria Belen Ludueña starting KU off with a dominating 8-0 win over Viktoriya Plyuta and Yana Kakovkina. Sophomore Claire Dreyer and junior Victoria Khanevskaya secured the doubles point for the Jayhawks by winning at the No. 3 spot, 8-2, while junior Monica Pezzotti and sophomore Paulina Los completed the sweep with their 8-3 win at No. 2.

The Jayhawks won five of six singles matches on the day. Ludueña and Dreyer continued their singles success with respective victories, both remaining undefeated this spring. Ludueña, a newcomer from Curico, Chile, grabbed the first singles point of the day for KU when she came from one game behind in the second set to win 6-0, 6-1 over Michaela McShane at the No. 4 position. Dreyer, a St. Louis native, took down UALR’s Nina Yates, 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 5 singles spot.

Scouting the Opponents
Drake opened its eight-match homestand last Saturday (Feb. 18) registering 6-1 and 7-0 victories over UMKC and Chicago State at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. Drake captured the doubles point against Chicago State on the strength of an 8-3 victory by senior Gabriela Demos (Chesterfield, Mo.) and junior Manca Krizman (Solkan, Slovenia) at No. 1. The Bulldogs garnered victories at the top two doubles positions against UMKC to assume a lead they didn’t relinquish en route to victory. Clinching the deciding tally in doubles with an 8-3 win at No. 1 was the tandem of Demos and Krizman.

The Montana Grizzlies completed a three-match road trip in Portland and came out with three victories. Montana opened with a 4-3 win over the University of Portland Friday and followed it with a 7-0 sweep of Portland State Saturday before taking down Seattle, 5-2. Against Seattle, the Grizzlies swept doubles and saw singles victories at Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 6.

Up Next
Following this weekend’s road trip, KU will head back out on the road to Tulsa, Okla., next weekend. The Jayhawks will compete against North Texas on Saturday and Tulsa on Sunday with times still to be determined. Please check back with kuathletics.com for complete results.