Kansas Falls to Texas Tech, 4-3

March 5, 2006

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LAWRENCE, Kan. — The University of Kansas tennis team fell 4-3 to Texas Tech in its Big 12 Conference opener, Sunday in Lawrence. The loss drops KU to 5-3 overall and 0-1 in league play.

Sunday’s match also marked the first time Kansas has played in its new indoor facility, First Serve.

The contest began with Texas Tech taking two of three doubles matches from the Jayhawks. Kansas’ tandem of Elizaveta Avdeeva and Ksenia Bukina notched KU’s only victory, 8-0, in the No. 1 spot. In singles action, Kansas got wins from Bukina, Lauren Hommell and Edina Horvath.

With the dual tied at three, only the No. 6 singles match between the Red Raiders’ Katja Kovacic and KU’s Yuliana Svistun remained to decide the final score. After dropping the first set and falling behind 5-4 in the second, Svistun rallied to knot the match at six, forcing a tiebreak. Kovacic, however, would win the tiebreak, 7-3, to clinch the victory for Tech.

The Jayhawks will look to bounce back next weekend in matches versus Iowa on Saturday and Oklahoma State on Sunday.

Results

Singles
1) Ksenia Bukina (KU) def. Tara Browning (TT), 6-1, 6-4
2) Cigdem Duru (TT) def. Elizaveta Avdeeva (KU), 6-3, 7-6
3) Janet Durham (TT) def. Christine Skoda (KU), 6-3, 6-2
4) Lauren Hommell (KU) def. Lakann Wagley (TT), 6-2, 6-2
5) Edina Horvath (KU) def. Sam Ven der Drift (TT), 7-6, 6-3
6) Katja Kovacic (TT) def. Yuliana Svistun (KU), 6-2, 7-6

Doubles
1) Avdeeva/Bukina (KU) def. Browning/Wagley (TT), 8-0
2) Duru/Durham (TT) def. Hommell/Horvath (KU), 8-3
3) Kovacic/Hunter (TT) def. Skoda/Brittany Brown (KU), 8-4