No. 26-Ranked Longhorns Top Kansas Tennis 6-1

March 26, 2011

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Kansas’ No. 1 doubles team of Ekaterina Morozova and Dylan Windom held off the 23rd-ranked team of Amanda Craddock and Cierra Gayton-Leach from Texas Saturday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center, but the Jayhawks got just one point on the board against No. 26 Texas, eventually being overtaken 6-1.

The Jayhawks fell to 6-7 on the season and 0-3 to open Big 12 Conference play. Texas remains perfect in league action, extending its Big 12 mark to 4-0 and moving to 10-4 overall.

Despite a comeback attempt by the Longhorns’ No. 1 doubles team, Morozova and Windom never trailed against Craddock and Gayton-Leach. The KU duo went up 4-0 before the Texas team came back to win three games. Morozova and Windom pushed their lead to 7-3 and Craddock and Gayton-Leach immediately cut it to 7-4. But Texas would come no closer than 7-4, as the Jayhawks put the match away, earning the first KU win over a ranked doubles opponent since Morozova and Wilbert defeated a No. 72-ranked team from Colorado April 11, 2010. It was the highest-ranked doubles team a Jayhawk duo has defeated since Elizaveta Avdeeva and Ksenia Bukina defeated a 28th-ranked team from Texas A&M on April 22, 2006.

This was also the second time this season Morozova has been successful against Craddock in doubles play, as she and Erin Wilbert defeated Craddock and Caroline Larsson in October at the Riviera ITA All-American Championships, knocking the duo out of the prequalifying bracket of the Los Angeles event.

Monica Pezzotti and Paulina Los nearly broke through with a doubles win of their own in the third match, coming back from a 4-0 deficit to tie Juliana Gajic and Maggie Mello at 4-4 and again at 6-6, but Mello and Gajic won the next two to clinch the doubles point and put Texas up 1-0 going into singles play.

Mello and Damico quickly downed Sara Lazarevic and Pezzotti to extend the Longhorn lead to 3-0. Erin Wilbert then fell in the No. 5 singles match, effectively giving Texas the win. Morozova battled No. 15 Aeriel Ellis but fell to the Big 12’s top-ranked player 6-4, 6-3 shortly after Los dropped the No. 4 match to Caroline Larsson.

Windom earned a win when Elizabeth Begley defaulted.

Kansas will be back in action Sunday morning when No. 25 Texas A&M visits the Jayhawk Tennis Center at 11 a.m.

No. 26 Texas 6, Kansas 1

March 26, 2011 – Lawrence, Kan.

Jayhawk Tennis Center

DOUBLES
1) Morozova/Windom (KU) def. #23 Craddock/Gayton-Leach (UT) 8-4
2) Damico/Ellis (UT) def. Wilbert/Lazarevic (KU) 8-3
3) Gajic/Mello (UT) def. Pezzotti/Los (KU) 8-6

Order of finish: 2, 3, 1

SINGLES
1) #15 Aeriel Ellis (UT) def. Ekaterina Morozova (KU) 6-4, 6-3
2) Kristan Damico (UT) def. Monica Pezzotti (KU) 6-1, 6-0
3) Maggie Mello (UT) def. Sara Lazarevic (KU) 6-1, 6-0
4) Amanda Craddock (UT) def. Paulina Los (KU) 6-3, 6-1
5) Caroline Larsson (UT) def. Erin Wilbert (KU) 6-2, 6-1
6) Dylan Windom (KU) def. Elizabeth Begley 0-1, unfinished

Order of finish: 3, 2, 5, 4, 1

Team Records: Texas (10-4, 5-0 Big 12); Kansas (6-7, 0-3 Big 12)