Koch and Toran Ribes lead doubles at FGCU Invitational
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Kansas duo of Janet Koch and Maria Toran Ribes earned their second doubles win of the weekend on day two of the FGCU Invitational in Fort Myers, Florida at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
Playing doubles against FGCU, Koch and Toran Ribes recorded the Jayhawks’ only win against the Eagles after defeating Sofia Perez and Bridget Forster, 6-2. Despoina Vogasari and Tatiana Nikolaeva fell to Julia Ascua and Julianna Curtis, 6-3.
The pair of Nina Khmelnitckaia and Carla Pons Martorell dropped their match, 6-4, to Maja Ornberg and Madison Gallegos. Pons Martorell later topped Sofia Blanno in singles, 6-1, 6-3.
“We definitely didn’t get off to the start we would have liked in doubles (Sunday),” said head coach Todd Chapman. “Our energy and passion was lacking which led to us not being as competitive as we needed to be. Janet (Koch) and Maria (Toran Ribes) played well this weekend and definitely led our doubles play.”
Fight seemed to be the common theme in the Jayhawks’ singles matches against No. 23 Ole Miss. Nikolaeva won KU’s only singles match against the Rebels after coming back from a first-set loss against Allie Sanford, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. No. 94-ranked Vogasari battled in both of her sets, but ultimately dropped the match, 7-5, 7-6 (6), to No. 50 Arianne Hartono. Facing No. 81 Natalie Suk, No. 90 Koch couldn’t overcome her opponent, falling 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Continuing the trend, No. 112-ranked Khmelnitckaia took No. 62 Sabina Machalova to three sets, but could not prevail and lost the match, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Toran Ribes played a tough second set against Alexa Bortles who came out on top, 6-3, 7-6 (2). Amber Policare dropped her match against Tereza Janatova, 6-1, 6-3.
“In singles, we played hard and competed in a way that put us in some good positions,” said Chapman. “We struggled in several matches with capitalizing on the opportunities we created. Ole Miss is a very quality team and definitely made us earn everything. We will be better as we move forward from the lessons we learned in (Sunday’s) matches.”
Kansas will conclude its stint in Florida with singles against South Carolina at 8 a.m., CT Monday.
Day Two Results
Doubles
Ascua/Curtis (FGCU) def. Vogasari/Nikolaeva (KU) 6-3
Koch/Toran Ribes (KU) def. Perez/Forster (FGCU) 6-2
Ornberg/Gallegos (FGCU) def. Khmelnitckaia/Pons Martorell (KU) 6-4
Singles
No. 50 Hartono (UM) def. No. 94 Vogasari (KU) 7-5, 7-6 (6)
No. 81 Suk (UM) def. No. 90 Koch (KU) 6-2, 7-6 (5)
No. 62 Machalova (UM) def. No. 112 Khmelnitckaia 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Bortles (UM) def. Toran Ribes (KU) 6-3, 7-6 (2)
Nikolaeva (KU) def. Sanford (UM) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Janatova (UM) def. Policare (KU) 6-1, 6-3
Pons Martorell (KU) def. Blanno (FCGU) 6-1, 6-3
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