KU Tennis Welcomes Oklahoma, Oklahoma State to Open Big 12 Play
March 7, 2012
LAWRENCE, Kan.—For the second-straight weekend, the University of Kansas women’s tennis team will play two ranked teams as the Jayhawks welcome Big 12 opponents No. 40 Oklahoma Friday at 3 p.m. and No. 56 Oklahoma State Sunday at noon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
The Jayhawks enter the weekend at 7-2 in dual competition and uncontested in Big 12 play. The Sooners are 6-6 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12 while the Cowgirls come to Lawrence with a 6-3 overall and 0-1 conference record.
Last Time Out
Junior Monica Pezzotti and sophomore Paulina Los claimed the University of Kansas women’s tennis team’s lone victory as the Jayhawks fell to the No. 30 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes, 7-0 Sunday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
After dropping the first two doubles matches, Pezzotti and Los picked up the win for Kansas at No. 2 doubles, defeating Bonny Davidson and Samantha Vickers, 8-5.
Freshman Maria Belen Ludueña suffered her first defeat in singles competition after going 8-0 this spring. The newcomer, ranked 118th in the Campbell/ITA Singles Rankings, fell at the No. 3 spot to Tulsa’s Ewa Szatkowska 4-6, 6-4 (10-8).
Pezzotti and Los both fell to ranked opponents in singles play. Pezzotti dropped the decision at No. 1 to No. 67 Samantha Vickers, 6-2, 6-2, while Los was bested by No. 82 Anastasia Erofeeva at the No. 2 position, 6-3, 6-3.
Scouting the Opponents
The two Oklahoma Big 12 rivals opened conference play against each other last Saturday in Norman. The Oklahoma State women’s tennis team came up short against Oklahoma, 5-2, at the Headington Center.
OU’s 34th-ranked pair of Whitney Ritchie and Marie-Pier Huet defeated Kanyapat Narattana and Malika Rose, 8-5, at the No. 1 spot. At No. 3, OSU’s C.C. Sardinha and Isabela Miro suffered their first loss as a team to Mia Lancaster and Abbi Melrose, 8-6.
The final match came down to Sardinha and Ritchie at No. 1. Sardinha triumphed in the first set, winning 6-2. After Ritchie took the second set, 7-5, the match was forced into a super tie-breaker where OU emerged with the point.
Up Next
After the weekend, the Jayhawks will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., March 17-19 where KU will take on Houston, Idaho and Bowling Green. Times are still to be determined.
