Jayhawks fall short against No. 9 Vanderbilt

Anastasia Rychagova cheers after a first set win against the No. 2-ranked player.

Kansas 0, Vanderbilt 4
Currey Tennis Center
Nashville, Tennessee

January 28, 2017

 DOUBLES

No. 1 Khmelnitckaia/Bernard-Feigenbaum (KU) def. #53 Campbell/Rosca (VU) 6-2
No. 2 Sharma/Kurtz (VU) def. Koch/Rychagova (KU) 7-5
No. 3 Smith/Contreras (VU) def. Nikolaeva/Toran Ribes (KU) 6-1

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

 SINGLES

No. 1 #65 Rychagova (KU) vs. #2 Sharma (VU) DNF 6-2, 5-7, 2-2
No. 2 #19 Campbell (VU) def. Koch (KU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 #28 Christina Rosca (VU) def. Bernard-Feigenbaum (KU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 Khmelnitckaia (KU) vs. Sellyn (VU) DNF 6-3, 5-7, 2-5
No. 5 Kurtz (VU) def. Toran Ribes (KU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 6 Nikolaeva (KU) vs. Contreras (VU) DNF 1-6, 2-3

Order of Finish: 2, 5, 3
 Stats Box Score (.PDF)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Kansas doubles team of Nina Khmelnitckaia and Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum downed the nation’s No. 53-ranked doubles team, but as close as the Jayhawks battled No. 9 Vanderbilt they weren’t able to accumulate any points and Kansas fell, 4-0, to No. 9 Vanderbilt on the final day of ITA Kick-Off Weekend Saturday at the Currey Tennis Center.
 
Khmelnitckaia and Bernard-Feigenbaum put up a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles over Vanderbilt’s No. 53-ranked doubles pair Sydney Campbell and Christina Rosca. KU dropped the other two doubles matches as the Commodores claimed the point.
 
“I am proud of the way we competed in the match (Saturday) against a top-10 team on the road,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “The score is not indicative to how close the match really was. Vanderbilt is one of the best teams in the country for a reason and when we gave them an inch they took a foot.”
 
Playing at No. 1 singles, No. 65 Anastasia Rychagova faced the nation’s No. 2-ranked singles player, Astra Sharma, and posted a first set win. The match went into a third set before being stopped, 6-2, 5-7, 2-2.
 
In doubles, Rychagova and Janet Koch put up a tough fight at the No. 2 position, but were not able to top Vanderbilt’s Sharma and Emma Kurtz and dropped the match, 7-5. Freshmen duo Maria Toran Ribes and Tatiana Nikolaeva were defeated by Emily Smith and Fernanda Contreras, 6-1.
 
“We lost a very close doubles point and the girls really responded early in the singles,” said Chapman. “We had some chances to finish off a couple matches in singles and give credit to Vanderbilt for pushing them to a third set.”
 
At No. 5 singles, Toran Ribes battled back in her second set, but fell short in the tiebreaker against Kurtz who won the match, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5). After a first set win, Bernard-Feigenbaum was not able to top her opponent at No. 3 and lost to No. 28-ranked Rosca, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Koch faced No. 19-ranked Campbell, but dropped her No. 2 singles match, 6-2, 6-2.
 
“I like where we are competitively at this point of the season,” Chapman said. “We have to rebound quickly because we have two tough road matches next weekend.”
 
Kansas will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to face North Carolina State Friday, February 3 at 12 p.m., and to Williamsburg, Virginia for an 11 a.m., match Sunday against William & Mary.
 
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