🎾 Kansas Outlasts No. 41 Northwestern, 4-3
EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 50 Kansas women’s tennis picked up their second straight road win by the score of 4-3, as the Jayhawks (6-4) outlast the 41st-ranked Northwestern Wildcats (5-5) on Sunday afternoon at the Combe Tennis Center.
The Jayhawks opened the match with a nail-biter in doubles play, where Kansas pulled off back-to-back doubles points to take a 1-0 advantage. The Wildcats posted the first doubles win on court one, but senior Maria Toran Ribes and freshman Luniuska Delgado responded with a 7-5 victory. All eyes were on court two as sophomores Malkia Ngounoue and Julia Deming (KU) went to a tiebreaker set up to decide the clinching point. Ngounoue and Deming held on to defeat NU, 7-6 (7-5).
The battle between the Jayhawks and Wildcats continue in singles as each posted a match on the scoreboard. NU grabbed the first of the day, defeating Delgado in two sets, but Toran Ribes put the Jayhawks back on top with a 6-3, 6-2 victory on court four. Kansas went on to increase its lead after wins by Ngounoue (6-6, 6-4) and Roxana Manu (4-6, 6-4, 7-5). Manu’s three-thriller clinched the match for the Jayhawks, 4-3.
Up Next:
Kansas continues on the road at Rice on March 7 at noon, before heading back to Lawrence for its Big 12 home opener versus Oklahoma on March 13 at 5 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
#50 Kansas 4, #41 Northwestern 3
Singles competition
#58 Julie Byrne (NUW) def. #74 Sonia Smagina (KU) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5)
Malkia Ngounoue (KU) def. Inci Ogut (NUW) 6-3, 6-4
Carmen Roxana Manu (KU) def. Clarissa Hand (NUW) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Caroline Pozo (NUW) def. Luniuska Delgado (KU) 6-2, 6-0
Maria Toran Ribes (KU) def. Briana Crowley (NUW) 6-3, 6-2
Hannah McColgan (NUW) def. Vasiliki Karvouni (KU) 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
Doubles competition
Julie Byrne/Hannah McColgan (NUW) def. Sonia Smagina/Carmen Roxana Manu (KU) 6-3
Malkia Ngounoue/Julia Deming (KU) def. Inci Ogut/Clarissa Hand (NUW) 7-6 (7-5)
Maria Toran Ribes/Luniuska Delgado (KU) def. Briana Crowley/Christina Hand (NUW) 7-5
