Kansas Takes Care of Business in 6-1 Win Over No. 50 SMU
| #23 Kansas 6, #50 SMU 1 Jayhawk Tennis Center March 4, 2016 |
| Doubles |
| No. 1 – Nina Khmelnitckaia/Janet Koch (KU) vs. Vaszilisza Bulgakova/Hristina Dishkova (SMU) 5-5 unfinished |
| No. 2 – Maria Jose Cardona/Summer Collins (KU) def. Ana Perez-Lopez/Dasha Sharapova (SMU) 6-3 |
| No. 3 – Smith Hinton/Anastasiya Rychagova (KU) def. Macie Elliott/Mary Wright (SMU) 6-3 |
| Order of Finish: 3,2 |
| Singles |
| No. 1 – Anastasiya Rychagova (KU) def. Christina Dishkova (SMU) 7-5, 6-1 |
| No. 2 – Vaszilisza Bulgakova (SMU) def. Smith Hinton (KU) 6-4, 7-6 (2) |
| No. 3 – Janet Koch (KU) def. Yana Erkeeva (SMU) 6-2, 6-3 |
| No. 4 – Nina Khmelnitckaia (KU) def. Dasha Sharapova (SMU) 6-2, 7-5 |
| No. 5 – Summer Collins (KU) def. Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) 6-2, 6-0 |
| No. 6 – Maria Jose Cardona (KU) def. Mary Wright (SMU) 6-3, 6-2 |
| Order of Finish: 5,1,6,4,3,2 |
LAWRENCE, Kan.—Kansas began a weekend of dual matches against ranked opponents by defeating No. 50 SMU, 6-1, at the Jayhawk Tennis Center on Friday afternoon. Kansas’ win over the Mustangs marked its fourth win over a top-50 opponent on the season.
“We don’t always play our best tennis, but they always find a way to play the big points well and find a way to work through it and get through the match,” said Kansas head coach Chapman. “They reach inside themselveds and find good tennis and competitive tennis when they need to. It is fun to watch this group, especially being so young, it makes me excited for our future.”
The Jayhawks started off the afternoon by capturing the doubles point from SMU. Sophomore Smith Hinton and freshman Anastasiya Rychagova quickly worked SMU’s Macie Elliott and Mary Wright with a, 6-3, win on court three. Following closely behind was senior Maria Jose Cardona and freshman Summer Collins with a, 6-3, win against Ana Perez-Lopez and Dasha Sharapova on court two.
Freshmen Nina Khmelnitckaia and Janet Koch were in a tightly contested battle against SMU’s Christina Dishvoka and Vaszilisza Bulgakova on court one that was knotted at five games each, when the Jayhawks secured the first point of the dual with wins on courts one and three.
Up 1-0, the Jayhawks continued to dominate SMU in singles play as KU took the first set in five of six matches. On court five, Collins lost only two games to Perez-Lopez, on her way to a, 6-2, 6-0, win.
In a battle of top-60 ranked singles players, 55th-ranked Rychagova took on 58th-ranked Dishkova on court one. Rychagova had to battle for the first set, 7-5, but easily took the second set, 6-1, and the match.
With the Jayhawks coasting, 3-0, Cardona closed out SMU’s chances of a win by defeating Wright, 6-3, 6-2, on court six. Khmelnitckaia was right behind Cardona, as she had an easy, 6-2, first set against Sharapova. Khmelnitckaia and Sharapova had a back and forth second set until Khmelnitckaia won the final two games, winning 7-5. Her victory on court four brought the Jayhawks up to a, 5-0, advantage in the team standings. Adding to the Jayhawk lead was Koch on court three with a, 6-2, 6-3, win over SMU’s Yana Erkeeva.
Kansas was unable to secure its second-straight sweep as SMU’s Bulgakova topped Hinton, 6-4, 7-6 (2), on court two. The loss was Hinton’s first of the 2016 season as she is now 7-1 on the year in singles play.
Up Next
Kansas will close out the weekend by hosting No. 58 Denver. The Jayhawks will play the final match of a seven-match homestand when they welcome Baylor to the Lawrence on Wednesday, March 9. The match against the Lady Bears will serve as KU’s 2016 Big 12 Conference opener.
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