Deming, Ngounoue, Plipuech remain undefeated at Orlando Invitational

ORLANDO, Fla. – At the conclusion of day two at the Orlando Invitational hosted by, and played at, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus, Kansas’ Julia Deming, Malkia Ngounoue and Plobrung Plipuech remain unbeaten. Ngounoue and Plipuech each paired up with fellow Jayhawks in doubles play and were victorious in their matches.
 
Starting the second day in Orlando, doubles play kicked off against NC State. Jayhawk seniors Nina Khmelnitckaia and Janet Koch, the No. 5-ranked doubles tandem by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), were bested by the Wolfpack’s No. 20-ranked Alana Smith and Anna Rogers, 7-5. Kansas freshmen Ngounoue and Sonia Smagina triumphed over NC State’s No. 37-ranked duo of Adriana Reami and Amanda Rebol, 6-2. The third Kansas pairing of sophomore Plipuech and junior Maria Toran Ribes took to the court together and came up victorious against NC State’s Liz Norman and Bianca Moldovan, 6-2.
 
Following doubles victories, Ngounoue and Plipuech looked to advance their spring 2019 records to 4-0 in the Jayhawks’ singles play versus the Texas Tech Lady Raiders. Ngounoue and Plipuech both triumphed in their singles matches against TTU’s Kennedy Bridgforth, 6-3, 6-0 and Nell Miller, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, respectively.

Toran Ribes won her first singles match of the spring season, defeating Texas Tech’s Lana Rush, 7-5, 7-5. Kansas freshman Deming won her second singles match in as many days as she bested Texas Tech’s Sydney Jones, 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 7-5.
 
After partnering with Ngounoue to defeat No. 37-ranked Reami and Rebol of NC State, Smagina fell short in her singles match versus Texas Tech’s Olivia Peet, 2-6, 6-4, 4-6. Kansas ranked singles seniors No. 70 Khmelnitckaia and No. 34 Koch were defeated by Tech’s Denise-Antonela Stoica, 7-6(10), 7-6(5) and No. 52-ranked Felicity Maltby, 6-3, 6-2, to round out day two of play at the Orlando Invitational.
 
QUOTES
Kansas head coach Todd Chapman
“Saturday was another round of tough battles against quality opponents. We are getting to see the team in adverse situations and seeing how each player is responding at this early juncture in the season. The team looks forward to closing out the tournament in a strong fashion Sunday.”
 
RESULTS
Doubles
No. 20 Smith/Rogers (NC State) def. No. 5 Khmelnitckaia/Koch (Kansas), 7-5
Ngounoue/Smagina (Kansas) def. No. 37 Reami/Rebol (NC State), 6-2
Plipuech/Toran Ribes (Kansas) def. Norman/Moldovan (NC State), 6-2
 
Singles
No. 52 Maltby (Texas Tech) def. No. 34 Koch (Kansas), 6-3, 6-2
Plipuech (Kansas) def. Miller (Texas Tech), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
Stoica (Texas Tech) def. No. 70 Khmelnitckaia (Kansas), 7-6(10), 6-7(5)
Ngounoue (Kansas) def. Bridgforth (Texas Tech), 6-3, 6-0
Toran Ribes (Kansas) def. Rush (Texas Tech), 7-5, 7-5
Peet (Texas Tech) def. Smagina (Kansas), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Deming (Kansas) def. Jones (Texas Tech), 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 7-5
 A schedule of the third and final day of the tournament is below:

Orlando Invitational
USTA National Campus
Orlando, Fla.
Sunday January 13 9 a.m. (CT) Texas Tech vs. Kansas (Doubles)
Rice vs. NC State (Doubles)
Followed by Rice vs. Kansas (Singles)
Texas Tech vs. NC State (Singles)

 
Live scoring and streaming are not be available throughout the duration of this tournament, but updates can be found on the USTA National Campus website, KUAthletics.com and KU tennis’ social media platforms on a daily basis.

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