Jayhawks cruise past William & Mary, 5-2

Despoina Vogasari returns the ball in her singles win.

Kansas 5, William & Mary 2
Jayhawk Tennis Center
Lawrence, Kan.
February 16, 2018

DOUBLES

No. 1 Khmelnitckaia/Rychagova (KU) def. Cheng/Thaler (WM) 6-1
No. 2 Koch/Nikolaeva (KU) vs. Wuenscher/Goodman (WM) 5-2 DNF
No. 3 Vogasari/Toran Ribes (KU) def. Madson/Tanielian (WM) 6-1

Order of Finish: 3, 1

SINGLES

No. 1 #2 Rychagova (KU) def. #68 Cheng (WM) 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 Vogasari (KU) def. #120 Tanielian 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 Koch (KU) def. Stepanova (WM) 6-3, 5-7, 10-6
No. 4 Perry (WM) def. Khmelnitckaia (KU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
No. 5 Toran Ribes (KU) def. Goodman (WM) 7-5, 6-2
No. 6 Thaler (WM) def. Nikolaeva (KU) 6-1, 6-2

Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 5, 3, 4

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas sophomore Maria Toran Ribes tallied two wins, including the clinching singles win in the team’s 5-2 victory over William & Mary Sunday at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
 
The Jayhawks’ win over the Tribe (5-5) moved them to 4-2 on the season and extended their winning streak to four matches.
 
After a tough stretch in doubles this season, Toran Ribes and Despoina Vogasari came out ready to play against Charlotte Madson and Clara Tanielian, allowing the duo only one game in their doubles match on court three for a, 6-1, win. Feeding off of that energy at the No. 1 spot, Anastasia Rychagova and Nina Khmelnitckaia followed with their own, 6-1, victory opposite of Rosie Cheng and Olivia Thaler, earning Kansas its second doubles point of the season and giving the Jayhawks the lead.
 
In singles, Toran Ribes played what seemed to be a marathon first set with Laura Goodman at the No. 5 position, eventually winning it, 7-5. Toran Ribes then downed Goodman in the second set, 6-2, to clinch the overall match for Kansas with her straight-sets victory.
 
“In doubles, I think we carried over from Friday,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “The positive was that we had all three doubles teams competing at a much better level. That was the first time all year that we’ve felt like all three teams have come out and put pressure on our opponents.”
 
Playing at the No. 2 position, Vogasari found her groove with the first set tied at 2-2, and came out on top against No. 120 Tanielian, 6-3. Cruising through her second, Vogasari took the match, 6-3, 6-2, to put Kansas up, 2-1, in the overall match.
 
No. 2-ranked Rychagova won six-straight games to blank No. 68 Cheng in the first set, 6-0, and brought that momentum into her second set. The Jayhawk closed out her match with a, 6-0, 6-2, win and stretched the Kansas lead to 3-1.
 
“Nas (Rychagova) and Deb (Vogasari) definitely set the tone early on,” said Chapman. “It’s tough as an opponent when you look up and you know you’ve lost the doubles point and you’re down pretty big on a couple of courts. I thought they did a good job of closing things out and putting a lot of pressure on William & Mary. It was a tough weekend, two good opponents and we feel very fortunate to be 2-0 on the weekend.”
 
Janet Koch only fell behind once in her first set, finishing with a 6-3 victory on court three. Taking a 5-3 lead in her second set, Koch was not able to hold on to that lead, falling, 7-5, to Ekaterina Stepanova. Instead of playing a third set, they competed for the win in a tiebreaker. With her teammates cheering her on from both sides, Koch prevailed to win the match, 6-3, 5-7, 10-6.
 
Khmelnitckaia dropped her first set, 6-3, to Natalia Perry at the No. 4 spot. The Jayhawk then breezed through her second set to a, 6-2, victory forcing a third set. With all courts finished, all eyes were Khmelnitckaia as she battled in her third set. She was not able to overcome Perry, ultimately dropping the match, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6.
 
Tatiana Nikolaeva was no match for Thaler in the first set, falling, 6-1, at the No. 6 spot. The second set proved to be the same, with Thaler taking the match, 6-1, 6-2, and tying the overall score at 1-1.
 
In doubles on court three, Koch and Nikolaeva had a, 5-2, lead overGoodman and Cecily Wuenscher, but did not get to finish due to the doubles point being clinched.
 
“Hopefully we can get a little healthier,” said Chapman. “Hopefully we can get a little more energy so we can get a couple good days of practice in as we prepare for two tough opponents. Arkansas will be very tough. Obviously we know with our match from them earlier this spring at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend that they’re a tough opponent. We’ve got a challenging week ahead of us so hopefully we can get some work in.”
 
Up next, Kansas will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for two matches. First, the Razorbacks Friday at 5 p.m., and then Purdue in a neutral match Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.