Kansas Eliminated by Colorado in Big 12 Quarterfinals
April 25, 2008
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COLLEGE STATION, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Texas – The University of Kansas tennis team’s run in the Big 12 Championships came to an end on Friday at the hands of fourth-seeded Colorado, 4-0. KU finishes its season with a record of 10-13.
A day after dominating IowaState in the first round, the Jayhawks could not get things going against CU. The Buffaloes took the doubles point after getting wins in the No. 1 and 2 positions. Kansas’ No. 1 tandem of senior Elizaveta Avdeeva and Edina Horvath led Colorado’s Camila Belassi and Monica Milewski 2-1 to open the match, but the Buffaloes won the next seven games to secure the point.
KU’s No. 3 pair of junior Yuliana Svistun and freshman Magdalena Tokarczyk led its contest 6-5 before it was stopped.
Kansas stayed competitive in singles play but could not overcome the strong CU squad. Avdeeva at No. 2 and Svistun at No. 5 each led their respective opponents in the first set, only to eventually lose their leads.
First to finish was the No. 4 contest, where CU’s Veera Nurmi defeated sophomore Kunigunda Dorn, 6-4, 6-4, snapping the Sopron, Hungary, native’s three-match winning streak.
Colorado then put itself on the verge of clinching the dual when Gleisy Torres Torees topped Horvath, 6-2, 6-4, in the No. 3 contest. Despite the loss on Friday, Horvath finishes the season with the most dual-match wins with 12.
The Jayhawks then saw their season come to an end when Svistun fell, 7-5, 6-2, to Melisa Esposito in the No. 5 contest.
Despite the disappointing ending, Kansas can be proud of a season in which its fifth-place regular-season conference finish was the program’s best since 2001-02. The Jayhawks achieved the level of success despite playing one of the nation’s toughest schedules that feature duals with 14 opponents ranked in the latest ITA national poll.
Seniors Avdeeva, Lauren Hommell and Stephanie Smith end their careers at Kansas with numerous accolades and accomplishments. Avdeeva became KU’s all-time leader in Big 12 doubles wins earlier this season, while all three were named to the Academic All-Big 12 team this season.
