Jayhawks earn two more titles in second ITA Summer Circuit Event of the summer

LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the second week in a row, incoming Kansas freshman Vasiliki Karvouni won the singles crown at an Oracle Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Summer Circuit powered by UTR event. This time the tournament was at the Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City, Missouri. KU sophomores-to-be Julia Deming and Malkia Ngounoue teamed up to claim the doubles title at the same event.

In the field of 16 singles competitors, KU’s three players advanced to the quarterfinals with first-round victories. Deming took down the University of Northern Colorado’s Madeline Doherty (6-1, 6-1), Ngounoue beat Sarah Wilcox of Creighton University (7-5, 7-5), and Karvouni nearly shut out her opponent (6-0, 6-1). In the quarterfinals, two of three Jayhawks continued their winning ways to advance to the semifinals. Deming won, 6-4, 7-5, while Karvouni shut out Katherine Cao from the University of Memphis, 6-0, 6-0. Ngounoue dropped her match to the University of Nebraska’s Jessica Aragon, 6-4, 6-2.

That was as far as Aragon would advance in the bracket, though, as she met up with Karvouni in the semifinals. The incoming KU freshman was nearly perfect again, winning 6-1, 6-0. In the other semifinal match, Deming took care of the University of Nebraska’s Claire Reifeis, 6-2, 6-4, to set up an all-Jayhawk final Sunday morning. In the final, Vasiliki won her ninth-consecutive singles match, defeating Deming, 6-1, 6-3, to claim her second singles title in as many weeks.

In the field of eight doubles teams, Deming and Ngounoue paired together while Karvouni partnered with Nebraska’s Refeis. After a bye in the first round for Karvouni and Refeis, and an 8-0 win by Deming and Ngounoue, both teams were victorious in another two-consecutive matches to set up a final that included all three Jayhawks. After falling in a close doubles final last weekend in Norman, Oklahoma, Deming and Ngounoue were victorious this time, besting Karvouni and Refeis, 8-1.

ABOUT ITA SUMMER CIRCUIT POWERED BY UTR 
The ITA Summer Circuit opened the weekend of June 22 at 11 sites throughout the country, with 1,026 players registered to compete. The ITA Summer Circuit is currently made up of 56 events over six-consecutive weekends, continuing through the last weekend in July.

The summer circuit was created to provide college players the opportunity to compete in organized events year-round. Although the primary purpose of the circuit is to provide incoming freshman and collegiate players the chance to compete in the summer months, for NCAA compliance purposes, the events are categorized as “open”; therefore, anyone (including high level juniors and adults) is eligible to compete in these events as long as he/she is a current ITA member.