Kansas’ doubles sweep sets pace for another strong day
LAHAINA, Hawaii – The Kansas tennis team paired up into three tandems and swept through the doubles competition provided by host Hawaii and Washington State Friday to open the second day of the Hawaii Spring Invitational at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch on the island of Maui.
After claiming all three doubles victories, the Jayhawks followed with a 4-2 mark in singles play. In all, sophomore Anastasia Rychagova, senior Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum, freshman Maria Toran Ribes and freshman Tatiana Nikolaeva were perfect on the day winning both their singles and doubles matches.
“(Friday) we took another positive step in preparation for the spring season,” head coach Todd Chapman said. “In competition you take positive steps in things you do well and also you take positive steps because areas that need to improve are spotlighted. In multiples spots we played well today and in a few spots we are looking for a more professional approach moving forward. Our goal is to finish off the tournament (Saturday) with our best day when it comes to competitiveness and how professionally we handle the task at hand.”
Sophomore Nina Khmelnitckaia teamed with Bernard-Feigenbaum and the Kansas duo topped Washington State’s Melisa Ates and Victoria Matejevic, 6-2. Meanwhile, the KU team of Janet Koch and Rychagova downed Hawaii’s Cindy Nguyen and Marina Hruba, 6-4.Toran Ribes and Nikolaeva completed the Jayhawk sweep with their 6-4 victory over Klara Pribylova and Saga Shermis from Hawaii.
In singles play, No. 65-ranked Rychagova only needed two sets to defeat Hawaii’s No. 119-ranked Petra Melounova, 6-2, 7-5. Bernard-Feigenbaum also claimed a two-set win dropping WSU’s Barbora Michalkova (WSU), 7-5, 6-2.
Both Kansas freshmen, Toran Ribes and Nikolaeva, were pushed to three sets, but were able to come out on top in the decisive set. Toran Ribes posted a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Hawaii’s Hruba, the 2016 Big West Conference Freshman of the Year, while Nikolaeva earned a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory over UH’s Pribylova.
Koch and Khmelnitckaia were also pushed to three sets in their singles matches, but were not as fortunate as their teammates. Koch dropped a 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3 decision to Hawaii’s Nguyen and Khmelnitckaia fell 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to Washington State’s Guzal Yusupova. Over two days, the Jayhawks own an 8-4 overall singles record with all four losses coming in three-set matches.
Play concludes Saturday with both singles and doubles action.
Hawaii Spring Invitational – Day 2 Results
Royal Lahaina Tennis Ranch – Lahaina, Maui
Jan. 6, 2017
Doubles
Nina Khmelnitckaia/Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (KU) def. Melisa Ates/Victoria Matejevic (WSU), 6-2
Anastasia Rychagova/Janet Koch (KU) def. Cindy Nguyen/Marina Hruba (UH), 6-4
Maria Toran Ribes/Tatiana Nikolaeva (KU) def. Klara Pribylova/Saga Shermis (UH), 6-4
Singles
Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (KU) def. Barbora Michalkova (WSU), 7-5, 6-2
No. 65 Anastasia Rychagova (KU) def. No. 119 Petra Melounova (UH), 6-2, 7-5
Cindy Nguyen (UH) def. Janet Koch (KU) 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3
Maria Toran Ribes (KU) def. Marina Hruba (UH), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Tatiana Nikolaeva (KU) def. Klara Pribylova (UH), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Guzal Yusupova (WSU) def. Nina Khmelnitckaia (KU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
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