Kansas rallies for a 4-3 win over NC State

Nina Khmelnitckaia got the Jayhawks started with the first singles win.

Kansas 4, NC State 3
Jayhawk Tennis Center
Lawrence, Kan.
February 3, 2018
 

DOUBLES

No. 1 #38 Khmelnitckaia/Rychagova(KU) vs. #9 Rogers/Wiktorin (NCSU) 3-5 DNF
No. 2 Rebol/Reami (NCSU) def. Vogasari/Nikolaeva (KU) 6-3
No. 3 Moldovan/Grimm (NCSU) def. Koch/Toran Ribes (KU) 6-2

Order of Finish: 3, 2

 SINGLES

No. 1 #1 Rychagova (KU) def. Rogers (NCSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
No. 2 Adriana Reami (NCSU) def. #94 Vogasari (KU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 #90 Koch (KU) def. #61 Wiktorin (NCSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 #112 Khmelnitckaia (KU) def. Grimm (NCSU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 Toran Ribes (KU) def. Rebol (NCSU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 Moldovan (NCSU) def. Pons Martorell (KU) 6-3, 6-4

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

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas junior Janet Koch clinched the game-winning point to lift the Jayhawks to a 4-3 win over North Carolina State in their home opener Saturday at the Jayhawk Tennis Center and move KU to 2-2 on the season.
 
No. 90 Koch snapped a five-match singles losing streak with her, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, victory against No. 61 Claudia Wiktorin on court three. The Jayhawk led during most of the first set before the Wolfpack player won two-straight games to claim the set, 6-4. Not ready to end the match, Koch came back to take the second set, 6-3, and force a third set. Finishing out the match, she won consecutive games to ultimately take the set, 6-3.
 
Finishing just seconds before, No. 1-ranked Anastasia Rychagova prevailed in three sets, defeating Anna Rogers, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, at the No. 1 position. She made quick work of Rogers, winning her first set, 6-3. In a more competitive second set, Rogers downed Rychagova, 6-3, to take the match to a third set. Then Rychagova claimed three games in-a-row to ultimately take the match with a 6-3 third-set win.
 
“On every court, one through six, we fought and responded,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “Whether it was our best tennis or not, the effort was there. We’re in a good place right now singles wise as far as competitiveness. I think we escaped (Saturday). NC State is a good team.”
 
No. 112 Nina Khmelnitckaia took an early, 3-0, lead at the No. 4 spot, allowing Helene Grimm only two points in the first set with a 6-2 win. The Jayhawk breezed through her second set, defeating Grimm, 6-2, 6-3, and tying the overall match at 1-1.
 
On court five, Maria Toran Ribes opened her first set by winning five-straight games over Amanda Rebol, to ultimately win the set, 6-3. Toran Ribes kept her spring record perfect, downing Rebol, 6-3, 6-4, and putting Kansas up 2-1.
 
After going back-and-forth with Adriana Reami, No. 94 Despoina Vogasari won four-consecutive games to take the first set, 6-3, on court two. Reami came back to lead the entire second set and eventually win it, 6-4, and the send the pair to a third set. Vogasari found herself down, 5-2, and her comeback fell short, falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Carla Pons Martorell battled in her two sets, but fell short against Bianca Moldovan, 6-3, 6-4.
 
“We’ve got to get our doubles figured out,” said Chapman. “If there’s any positive to losing the doubles point, it’s that we’ve been in that position four-straight times so we should know how that feels. That was the biggest thing. Respond and play with heart. That was a challenge and we definitely weren’t happy after the doubles point.”
 
Koch and Toran Ribes won two-straight games against Bianca Moldovan and Helene Grimm, but the Jayhawks ultimately fell, 6-2. Finishing almost simultaneously, Vogasari and Tatiana Nikolaeva’s comeback of three-straight games against Rebol and Reami was not enough with Kansas losing, 6-3, and giving the Wolfpack the doubles point.
 
No. 38 Khmelnitckaia and Rychagova played a close match with the No. 9-ranked duo of Anna Rogers and Claudia Wiktorin, but their match was stopped at 5-3 due to NC State winning the doubles point.
 
The Jayhawks will have two weeks off before hosting Oregon and William & Mary on February 16 and 18, respectively.
 
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