KU tennis remains undefeated
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Kansas tennis team continued its dominance at the ITA Regional Championships Saturday as KU remains undefeated after two days of competition. The Jayhawks swept day one in two doubles matches and maintained their perfect record Saturday by winning nine matches combined between singles and doubles competition at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
After a pair of doubles wins Friday night, both Jayhawks doubles teams were victorious again Saturday. Maria Toran Ribes and Julia Deming defeated Missouri’s Taylor Gruber and Gabrielle Goldin, 8-3. Malkia Ngounoue and Sonia Smagina bested Iowa State’s Ekaterina Grib and Regina Espindola, 8-4.
All four Jayhawks competing in the doubles main draw also took care of business in the main draw of singles competition Saturday. Junior Toran Ribes bested Missouri’s Ellie Wright, 6-4, 6-3, while her doubles partner, freshman Deming, also matched up against a Tiger defeating Marta Oliviera, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-0.
Freshmen Ngounoue and Smagina triumphed in their singles matches as Ngounoue defeated UMKC’s Katie Fries, 6-1, 6-2 and Smagina bested Big 12 Conference opponent Kianah Motosono of Oklahoma, 6-0, 6-4.
Freshman Plobrung Plipuech was victorious in her first match as a Jayhawk over Kansas State’s Ines Mesquita, 7-6, 6-2. Kansas’ two seniors competing in Iowa City both claimed singles victories Saturday as well. Janet Koch advanced past Nebraska’s Jessica Aragon, 6-1, 6-1 while Nina Khmelnitckaia bested Tulsa’s Megan Hopton, 6-0, 7-5.
Live stats and video streaming are available for the ITA Regional Championships throughout the tournament. To keep up with the Jayhawks, please click here.
QUOTES
Kansas head coach Todd Chapman
On the team’s performance on day two at the ITA Regional Championships:
“As a group we competed well and we competed hard and that is what our focus is for this tournament. We have enough talent on the team that if we do those things throughout (the day) we will put ourselves in a position (to be successful).”
RESULTS
Doubles
Smagina/Ngounoue (Kansas) def. Grib/Espindola (Iowa State), 8-4
Toran Ribes/Deming (Kansas) def. Gruber/Goldin (Missouri), 8-3
Singles
Toran Ribes (Kansas) def. Wright (Missouri), 6-4, 6-3
Deming (Kansas) def. Oliviera (Missouri), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-0
Ngounoue (Kansas) def. Fries (UMKC), 6-1, 6-2
Smagina (Kansas) def. Motosono (Oklahoma), 6-0, 6-4
Plipuech (Kansas) def. Mesquita (K-State), 7-6, 6-2
Koch (Kansas) def. Aragon (Nebraska), 6-1, 6-1
Khmelnitckaia (Kansas) def. Hopton (Tulsa), 6-0, 7-5
UP NEXT
Competition in both singles and doubles main draw brackets will continue Sunday morning at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex in Iowa City. The round of 16 doubles and singles round of 32 are both scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Kansas’ doubles teams of Toran Ribes and Deming will face off against Minnesota’s Tiffany Huber and Caitlyn Merzbacher while Ngounoue and Smagina are matched up against Arkansas’ Jackie Carr and Swhetha Prabaker.
In the singles bracket, Toran Ribes, Deming and Ngounoue take to the court against players from Oklahoma State in Catherine Gulihar, Lisa Marie Rioux and Sofia Blanco, respectively. Smagina is slated to play Iowa’s Michelle Barcalla. Plipuech will match up against Tulsa’s Martha Matoula in her second-career appearance as a Jayhawk. Meanwhile, KU seniors Koch and Khmelnitckaia are scheduled to face off against Missouri’s Mackenzy Middlebrooks and K-State’s Maria Ponomareva.
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