No. 14 Kansas advances to NCAA Second Round with victory over No. 44 Denver
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 14-ranked Kansas tennis claimed its NCAA Tournament first-round match Friday afternoon over No. 44 Denver, 4-0, at the Jayhawk Tennis Center at Rock Chalk Park.
Kansas’ No. 64-ranked doubles team of Anastasia Rychagova and Sonia Smaginabested Anna Riedmiller and Hada Chang, 6-2, at No. 2 doubles. On court 3, Maria Toran Ribes and Malkia Ngounouetriumphed over Bianca Mok and Arisha Ladhani, 6-3, giving the Jayhawks the doubles point.
The match on court 1 between KU’s No. 6-ranked doubles team of Janet Koch and Nina Khmelnitckaia and Denver’s Camille Vernen Anderson and Tatum Burger went unfinished with the score tied, 5-5, after Kansas claimed the doubles point.
Kansas has now won the doubles point in 23 out of 24 dual matches this season. The Jayhawks opened the 2019 season by securing the doubles point in 11-straight matches, and now have another streak of 12 in a row.
In singles, Maria Toran Ribes blasted her way Chang with an emphatic victory, 6-0, 6-0, giving KU a 2-0 lead.
On court 3, Plobrung Plipuech beat Burger, 6-2, 6-0, moving Kansas one point away from the victory.
At No. 5 singles, Khmelnitckaia defeated Vernen Anderson, 6-3, 6-4, clinching the match for Kansas.
The matches on courts 1, 2 and 3 ended unfinished.
On court 1, No. 13-ranked Rychagova trailed No. 97-ranked Mok, 7-5, 4-3.
Koch, ranked-No. 112 in the nation, was tied at a set apiece, 6-1, 4-6.
At No. 4 singles, Smagina led Ladhani, 7-5, 3-4.
QUOTES
Kansas head coach Todd Chapman
On today’s match:
“I was not one hundred percent pleased with the way we played today. It was nice to get a win and advance, but we have some things we need to clean up in order to get ready to face a tough Florida team tomorrow. The score shows, 4-0, but the match was much closer than that. It’s a good thing we closed out the match on court 5, because we were in trouble on the other three courts. Hopefully, tomorrow we come out with much more competitiveness as a team.”
On the matchup against Florida Saturday:
“They are tough, coming from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) they are a team that has been there and done it. They have won multiple national championships, among other accolades. We are going to have to bring the same energy and passion tomorrow that we did during the Big 12 Championships. If we do that we will be in a good position. I can’t guarantee which way the match will go score-wise, but I will like our chances if we bring what we need to bring. Tomorrow is going to be a battle. Florida is battle-tested, and the SEC is one of the best conferences in the country; they will be ready and we will be ready and hopefully it’ll be a great college tennis match.”
UP NEXT
Kansas tennis advances to the NCAA Tournament second round, where it will face off against the University of Florida, Saturday, May 4, at 1 p.m. at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
