KU Defeats No. 46 New Mexico, 4-3
March 9, 2008
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>LAWRENCE, Kan. – In its second victory in less than a week against a ranked opponent, the University of Kansas tennis squad got off to a quick start and then held off 46th-ranked New Mexico, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at First Serve.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The victory evened KU’s record at 5-5 and was its third in the last four duals. The win also surpassed last season’s win total of four.
Unlike their thrilling victory over KansasState on Wednesday, the Jayhawks built early momentum by winning all three doubles matches to go up 1-0. KU’s No. 2 tandem of senior Lauren Hommell and sophomore Kunigunda Dorn dominated the Lobos’ Jennifer Ryba and Victoria Tessmar, 8-3, marking their first win of the dual match season.
Also notching wins were Kansas’ No. 1 tandem of senior Elizaveta Avdeeva and junior Edina Horvath, who outlasted UNM’s Lucy Scott and Sandra Zmak, 8-5, to snap a two-match losing streak. The pair still leads KU with a record of 7-3 in dual play.
Freshman Magdalena Tokarczyk and junior Yuliana Svistun won the No. 3 contest, giving them their second victory in as many attempts this spring.
Leading the Jayhawks in singles play again was Hommell, who followed up her match-clinching victory on Wednesday at KSU with another clinching win against the Lobos. At the time, Kansas led, 3-2, but Svistun trailed in the No. 6 match, so Hommell was again put in a pressure situation. However, the Roswell, Ga., native needed only two sets this time as she handled Ryba, 6-3, 6-2, sending the Jayhawks to a victory that could land them in next week’s ITA rankings.
Also recording singles victories were Horvath at No. 2, who improved her record to a team-leading 8-2, and Dorn at No. 4, which snapped the Sopron, Hungary, native’s three-match losing streak.
Kansas will look to continue its strong play next weekend when travels to Colorado on March 14 and Border Showdown-rival Missouri on March 16.
Results
Doubles
1) Avdeeva/Horvath (KU) def. Scott/Zmak (UNM), 8-5
2) Hommell/Dorn (KU) def. Tessmar/Ryba (UNM), 8-3
3) Svistun/Tokarczyk (KU) def. Sotirchos/White (UNM), 8-5
Singles
1) #116 Ola Abou-Zekry (UNM) def. Magdalena Tokarczyk (KU), 7-5, 6-3
2) Sandra Zmak (UNM) def. Elizaveta Avdeeva (KU), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
3) Edina Horvath (KU) def. Mackenzie White (UNM), 6-1, 6-3
4) Kunigunda Dorn (KU) def. Emma Hayman (UNM), 6-2, 6-2
5) Lucy Scott (UNM) def. Yuliana Svistun (KU), 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (5)
6) Lauren Hommell (KU) def. Jennifer Ryba (UNM), 6-3, 6-2
