Completed Event: Women's Tennis versus #19 UCF on March 22, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 1
Final
Women's Tennis
4
vs #19 UCF
1
Friday, March 20
Lawrence, Kan.
5 p.m. CT
University of Kansas
4
vs
3
Houston
No. 48 Kansas Defeats No. 40 Houston in Tight 4-3 Match
3/20/2026 10:09:00 PM | Women's Tennis
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 48 Kansas fell behind early but battled back to defeat No. 40 Houston 4-3 on Friday evening at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. The win is Kansas' fourth ranked win of the season.
"I thought it was a great response after doubles," Kansas head coach Todd Chapman said. "I thought Houston outplayed us in the doubles and really pressured us, and we didn't handle it well. I thought we did a great job responding at the start of singles, where we really set the tone and took the momentum back. And then from there, it was a battle. Give Houston credit. That was a tough, hard-fought college tennis match, and it feels great to come out on the right side."
Kansas improved to 8-7 (4-2 Big 12) this season, while Houston dropped to 12-4 (3-4 Big 12). The Jayhawks also moved to 7-3 in home matches this year.
Houston took an early advantage in the match by winning the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. On court one, Kansas' Yerkezhan Arystanbekova and Anna Putilina fell to Houston's Sophie Schouten and Chems Zeghlouli in a tight 7-6 (2) match. Petja Drame and Elizaveta Morozova took down KU's Kyoka Kubo and Meriem Ben Ezzedine 6-2 on court three to take the doubles point and the 1-0 lead.
The Kansas pair of Heike Janse van Vuuren and Meg McCarty improved to 6-3 on the season with a 6-4 win over Iva Sepa and Valeriia Krokhotina on court two.
Kansas responded in singles play, taking two matches to take a 2-1 lead in the match. On court two, van Vuuren continued her winning ways with a 6-1, 6-3 straight-set victory over Zeghlouli to improve to 9-3 on the season. No. 53-ranked Kubo grabbed a hard fought 7-5, 6-2 win over Morozova on court one to give the Jayhawks the 2-1 lead. Putilina faced off against Schouten on court six and battled to a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 win to give Kansas a commanding 3-1 lead.
The Cougars didn't back down, grabbing wins on courts three and four to tie the match at 3-3 with one court remaining. Sepa took down Arystanbekova on court three 7-5, 6-1; and Krokhtina defeated Ben Ezzedine 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on court four.
The match came down to court six, which featured Kansas' McCarty and Houston's Drame. Drame took the first set 6-4 before McCarty took set two with a score of 6-2. Set three went down to the wire, with McCarty taking the set 7-6 (5) to give Kansas the 4-3 win over Houston.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will finish the weekend with a ranked match against No. 19 UCF on Sunday, March 22, at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CT.
Results
Doubles:Â
"I thought it was a great response after doubles," Kansas head coach Todd Chapman said. "I thought Houston outplayed us in the doubles and really pressured us, and we didn't handle it well. I thought we did a great job responding at the start of singles, where we really set the tone and took the momentum back. And then from there, it was a battle. Give Houston credit. That was a tough, hard-fought college tennis match, and it feels great to come out on the right side."
Kansas improved to 8-7 (4-2 Big 12) this season, while Houston dropped to 12-4 (3-4 Big 12). The Jayhawks also moved to 7-3 in home matches this year.
Houston took an early advantage in the match by winning the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. On court one, Kansas' Yerkezhan Arystanbekova and Anna Putilina fell to Houston's Sophie Schouten and Chems Zeghlouli in a tight 7-6 (2) match. Petja Drame and Elizaveta Morozova took down KU's Kyoka Kubo and Meriem Ben Ezzedine 6-2 on court three to take the doubles point and the 1-0 lead.
The Kansas pair of Heike Janse van Vuuren and Meg McCarty improved to 6-3 on the season with a 6-4 win over Iva Sepa and Valeriia Krokhotina on court two.
Kansas responded in singles play, taking two matches to take a 2-1 lead in the match. On court two, van Vuuren continued her winning ways with a 6-1, 6-3 straight-set victory over Zeghlouli to improve to 9-3 on the season. No. 53-ranked Kubo grabbed a hard fought 7-5, 6-2 win over Morozova on court one to give the Jayhawks the 2-1 lead. Putilina faced off against Schouten on court six and battled to a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 win to give Kansas a commanding 3-1 lead.
The Cougars didn't back down, grabbing wins on courts three and four to tie the match at 3-3 with one court remaining. Sepa took down Arystanbekova on court three 7-5, 6-1; and Krokhtina defeated Ben Ezzedine 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on court four.
The match came down to court six, which featured Kansas' McCarty and Houston's Drame. Drame took the first set 6-4 before McCarty took set two with a score of 6-2. Set three went down to the wire, with McCarty taking the set 7-6 (5) to give Kansas the 4-3 win over Houston.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will finish the weekend with a ranked match against No. 19 UCF on Sunday, March 22, at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CT.
Results
Doubles:Â
- Schouten/Zeghlouli (HOU) def. Arystanbekova/Putilina (KU), 7-6 (2)Â
- van Vuuren/McCarty (KU) def. Sepa/Krokhotina (HOU), 6-4
- Drame/Morozova (HOU) def. Kubo/Ben Ezzedine (KU), 6-2
- No. 53 Kubo (KU) def. Morozova (HOU), 7-5, 6-2
- van Vuuren (KU) def. Zeghlouli (HOU), 6-1, 6-3
- Sepa (HOU) def. Arystanbekova (KU), 7-5, 6-1
- Krokhtina (HOU) def. Ben Ezzedine (KU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
- McCarty (KU) def. Drame (HOU), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5)
- Putilina (KU) def. Schouten (HOU), 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Elizaveta Morozova / 0 [HOU]
52
76
#2 Singles Match
12
Chems Doha Zeghlouli / 0 [HOU]
13
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Iva Sepa / 0 [HOU]
76
51
#4 Singles Match
123
Valeriia Krokhotina / 0 [HOU]
466
643
#5 Singles Match
123
Petja Drame / 0 [HOU]
626
467
#6 Singles Match
123
Sophie Schouten / 0 [HOU]
164
616
Order of Finish:
2,3,1,6,4,5
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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