Rychagova and Chapman receive Central Region honors from the ITA
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) has named Kansas senior Anastasia Rychagova the Central Region Senior Player of the Year and KU head coach Todd Chapman the Central Region Coach of the Year.
Rychagova is currently in Orlando, Florida, where she earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Individual Championships and will compete in the tournament starting Monday. By being seeded in the 64-person bracket, Rychagova has guaranteed herself First-Team All-America honors.
A native of Moscow, Russia, Rychagova has been ranked among the ITA’s top singles players all season, reaching as high as No. 13 in the nation. KU’s No.1 singles player has gone 20-3 during 2018-19, including an 11-3 record against ranked opponents.
The senior’s success on the court this season resulted in numerous awards at the conference level, including All-Big 12 Singles First Team, her fourth-consecutive year earning that distinction. She and teammate Sonia Smagina were named to the All-Big 12 Doubles First Team in 2019. Rychagova earned Academic All-Big 12 Second-Team honors and was the co-Big 12 Player of the Week on two occasions. Additionally, she was named to the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team after helping the Jayhawks to their first-ever Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship.
No stranger to ITA honors, Rychagova has garnered numerous accolades from the organization during her four years donning the Crimson and the Blue. As a junior in 2018, she was an ITA All-American and also named the ITA Player to Watch. After her freshman season in 2016, Rychagova was honored as the ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year.
"We are thrilled for Nas to be rewarded and recognized for her great season of tennis," Chapman said. "Being honored as the top player in our region is a testament to all the hard work Nas has put into her tennis this season and in her career at Kansas."
In his sixth season at the helm of the Kansas tennis program, Chapman has led this year’s team to extraordinary success. In 2018-19, Chapman helped the Jayhawks stay ranked among the nation’s best teams all season long, tying a program-record high of No. 7 on February 26 while compiling a 21-5 overall record. In league action, KU put together a 7-2 record, going up against many other of the nation’s best teams. For his efforts, Chapman was named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year. The Jayhawks were undefeated at home this season, with a 16-0 record at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. Additionally, Kansas won the doubles point in 25 out of 26 dual matches, including the last 14 straight.
Last month, Chapman guided the Jayhawks to their first-ever Big 12 Conference Championship by consecutively beating TCU, No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Texas over three days of competition at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. With the conference title in hand, KU earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tennis Championships, in which Kansas was chosen to host the First and Second Rounds. After defeating two other ranked teams, No. 44 Denver and No. 24 Florida, No. 14 Kansas earned the program’s first trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 since 1998. In the Sweet 16, the Jayhawks traveled to Stanford to face the defending National Champion Cardinal, where Kansas was narrowly defeated, 4-3, to end its 2018-19 season.
UP NEXT
NCAA singles and doubles play will be conducted May 20-25 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. Bracket information, including opponent(s) and competition date(s) and time(s) will be made available Sunday evening, May 19.
Live stats and streaming will be available as well as updates throughout the tournament on Kansas tennis’ social media accounts.
