Jayhawks host NC State in home opener
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas women’s tennis team will host North Carolina State for its spring home opener Saturday at 1 p.m., at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
Coming off their first win of dual-match play against No. 18 Arkansas, the Jayhawks (1-2) will look to keep momentum against N.C. State (0-2). Sophomore Maria Toran Ribes continues to be a power house in the singles lineup with a perfect dual-play record.
Junior, and No. 1-ranked, Anastasia Rychagova competed in her first singles match of the season, earning an easy win and moving her to an overall record of 11-2. No. 94 Despoina Vogasari gutted out a victory to up her season mark to 12-7 and 1-2 in the spring. Clinching the match point for Kansas, No. 112-ranked Nina Khmelnitckaia is now 10-6 overall with a 1-2 record in dual play.
“We are looking forward to playing at home this weekend in our home opener,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “Playing the first month of the season on the road has been challenging, but hopefully it has prepared our team for the season ahead.”
The Wolfpacks’ two losses came against No. 16 UCLA (4-0) and No. 21 Kentucky (4-2) over ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Their roster is home to the No. 9-ranked doubles team of Claudia Wiktorin and Anna Rogers. The duo has an overall record of 12-5, including 1-1 in dual play. Wiktorin also finds herself in the singles rankings at No. 61. She has just a 4-4 record with dual matches accounting for an 0-2 mark playing in the No. 4 position. NC State is currently in the state of Kansas, as the Wolfpack are at Wichita State for a Friday tilt.
“NC State is a very good team that is well coached, so we know it is going to be a very tough task,” said Chapman. “We had a great down to the wire match with them last year, and I don’t expect anything different Saturday.”
Last year the two programs faced off in Raleigh with Kansas coming out on top, 4-3, after fighting back from losing the doubles point. KU leads the overall series with NC State, 2-0.
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