Koch and Toran Ribes advance to final round of singles at Rice Invitational
Koch and Toran Ribes advance to final round of singles at Rice Invitational
HOUSTON – Kansas junior Janet Koch and sophomore Maria Toran Ribes each earned singles wins Saturday to advance to the final match in their respective flights at the Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
In Flight 1 Singles, Koch rallied after a first-set loss to top Alabama’s Andie Danielle, 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1). Toran Ribes, who is playing Flight 2 Singles, also had a three-set win to advance to the finals against Anzhelika Shapovalova of SMU, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (2).
“(Saturday) was another solid day of competition,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “I thought we played solid doubles in some spots and we let something to be desired in some other spots. Janet, Maria and Tanya competed well in singles and played the big points well. I am excited for Janet and Maria to be in the finals of their flights and I am equally excited to see how they respond in the pressure situations tomorrow. We look forward to closing the tournament out on a strong note (Sunday).”
Playing in consolation, sophomore Tatiana Nikolaeva defeated SMU’s Ana Perez-Lopez, 6-1, 6-6, in Flight 3 Singles. Redshirt freshman Amber Policare, who is playing in Flight 6 Singles, won her consolation match by default against Ana Glumac from Houston. Together, the duo topped Fabienne Gettwart and Khee Yen Wee of Sam Houston State, 6-4. The pair then lost to Rice’s Priya Niezgoda and Soie Moenster, 7-5, in the final round.
Freshman Carla Pons Martorell teamed up with Haruka Sasaki of North Texas for doubles and won their first match against Diya Menon and Laura Cabrera, 6-1. The duo then topped Joy Chia and Flavia Gutierrez, 6-3. Playing against each other in Flight 7 Singles, Pons Martorell was not able to top Sasaki and dropped the match, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Playing in Flight 1 Doubles, Koch and Toran Ribes fell to Nicole Dzenga and Vanja Klaric of South Florida, 6-0, and then to Alabama’s Jacqueline Pelletier and Kylie Moulin, 6-2.
The final round of singles will begin Sunday at 9 a.m., CT.
Day 2 Results
Flight 1 Singles
Janet Koch (KU) def. Andie Danielle (UA) 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1)
Flight 2 Singles
Maria Toran Ribes (KU) def. Anzhelika Shapovalova (SMU) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (2)
Flight 3 Singles
Tatiana Nikolaeva (KU) def. Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) 6-1, 6-4
Flight 6 Singles
Amber Policare (KU) def. Ana Glumac (UH) by default
Flight 7 Singles
Haruka Sasaki (UNT) def. Carla Pons Martorell (KU) 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
Flight 1 Doubles
Dzenga/Klaric (USF) def. Koch/Toran Ribes (KU) 6-0
Pelletier/Moulin (UA) def. Koch/Toran Ribes (KU) 6-2
Flight 3 Doubles
Nikolaeva/Policare (KU) def. Gettwart/Wee (SHS) 6-4
Niezgoda/Moenster (RU) def. Nikolaeva/Policare (KU) 7-5
Flight 4 Doubles
Pons Martorell (KU)/Sasaki (UNT) def. Menon/Cabrera (UTSA) 6-1
Pons Martorell (KU)/Sasaki (UNT) def. Chia/Gutierrez (TXST) 6-3
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
