Jayhawk netters win second straight

Anastasia Rychagova returned a point during her 6-2, 6-0 No. 1 singles win.

Kansas 4, William & Mary 2
McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center
Williamsburg, Virginia

February 5, 2017

 DOUBLES

No. 1 Khmelnitckaia/Bernard-Feigenbaum (KU) def. Cheng/Stepanova (WM) 6-2
No. 2 Goodman/Thaler (WM) def. Koch/Rychagova (KU) 6-3
No. 3 Toran Ribes/Nikolaeva (KU) def. Dhore/Wuenscher (WM) 6-3

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

 SINGLES

No. 1 #65 Rychagova (KU) def. Goodman (WM) 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 Stepanova (WM) def. Koch (KU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 Bernard-Feigenbaum (KU) vs. Faure (WM) 6-0, 2-6, 2-0 DNF 
No. 4 Khmelnitckaia (KU) def. Cheng (WM) 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 Thaler (WM) def. Toran Ribes (KU) 6-4, 3-6, 10-2
No. 6 Nikolaeva (KU) def. Groener (WM) 6-2, 6-0

Order of Finish: 4, 1, 6, 2, 5
 Stats Box Score (.PDF)

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Nina Khmelnitckaia recorded her fifth-consecutive singles win and added a doubles triumph to pave the way for a 4-2 Kansas victory over William & Mary at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center Sunday.
 
Khmelnitckaia was the first to finish her singles match at the No. 4 spot, topping Rosie Cheng, 6-2, 6-2. Khmelnitckaia teamed up with Bernard-Feigenbaum for a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles over Cheng and Ekaterina Stepanova.
 
Nikolaeva sealed the 4-2 match victory with a 6-2, 6-0 win over the Tribe’s Maria Groener for her first win of the spring season. Nikolaeva paired up with Maria Toran Ribes at No. 3 doubles and defeated Deepa Dhore and Cecily Wuenscher, 6-3, which also secured the doubles point for KU
 
“I felt like we played well at several spots (Sunday) and as a team, found a way to win,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “This was a tough weekend against good competition on their home courts.”
 
Sunday’s match against William & Mary ended a streak of four-straight matches for the Jayhawks away from home against teams that participated in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. KU ended the swing with a 3-1 mark.
 
Anastasia Rychagova topped the Tribe’s Lauren Goodman at the No. 1 singles spot, 6-2, 6-0. The win was Rychagova’s sixth in her last seven matches. Rychagova and Janet Koch were not able to overcome Lauren Goodman and Olivia Thaler losing the match 6-3. Later, Koch dropped her singles match against Stepanova, 6-3, 6-3.
 
After the Jayhawks went up 4-1, Toran Ribes and Thaler continued their two-set tiebreaker with Thaler winning, 6-4, 3-6, 10-2, to set the final score at 4-2.
 
“I am extremely proud of the team for being professional and coming away with two solid wins,” said Chapman. “We now have to prepare for a very good Arkansas team Saturday at home.”
 
Kansas will face the Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday, February 11 at 5 p.m., at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
 
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