No. 15 Jayhawks stop Purdue, 6-1

Nina Khmelnitckaia returned a point during her singles win.

#15 Kansas 6, Purdue 1
George M. Billingsley Tennis Center
Fayetteville, Ark.
February 24, 2018

DOUBLES

No. 1 #29 Khmelnitckaia/Rychagova (KU) def. Ambrosio/Babic (PU) 6-4
No. 2 Koch/Nikolaeva (KU) vs. Baquerizo/Shimizu (PU) 5-4 DNF
No. 3 Vogasari/Toran Ribes (KU) def. Dovnik/Sabe (PU) 6-4

Order of Finish: 3, 1

SINGLES

No. 1 #1 Rychagova (KU) def. Ambrosio (PU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 #77 Vogasari (KU) def. Sabe (PU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Koch (KU) def. Babic (PU) 6-4, 7-6 (4)
No. 4 Khmelnitckaia (KU) def. Baquerizo (PU) 7-6 (6), 6-0
No. 5 Toran Ribes (KU) def. Shimizu (PU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 Dovnik (PU) def. Policare (KU) 7-6 (8), 6-2

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

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Kansas women’s tennis team won all but one match in the Jayhawks’ 6-1 neutral-site win over Purdue Saturday at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.
 
After a 4-3 loss to No. 38 Arkansas Friday, this victory moved KU to 5-3 on the season, while the Boilermakers fell to 5-4.
 
For the fourth-straight match, the Jayhawks came out and took the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Playing at the No. 3 position, Despoina Vogasari and Maria Toran Ribes topped Alex Sabe and Zala Dovnik, 6-4, for their fourth-straight win.
 
At the No. 1 spot, No. 29-ranked Nina Khmelnitckaia and Anastasia Rychagova defeated Silvio Ambrosio and Ena Babic, 6-4, clinching the doubles’ point. As a result, Janet Koch and Tatiana Nikolaeva did not get to finish their match on court two, but the KU team had a 5-4 lead over Rafaella Baquerizo and Seira Shimizu.
 
“We really competed with great energy (Saturday) throughout the whole match,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “Our response to (Friday’s) loss was really good and the team did a good job of embracing the areas where we challenged them. Our energy in doubles was as good as it has been all year and it was a great step in the right direction of embracing the passion we need to play with.”
 
In singles, Khmelnitckaia played a close first set, coming out on top against Baquerizo, 7-6 (8). She then won six-straight games in the second set winning, 6-0, and putting Kansas up 2-0.
 
Extending the Kansas lead to 3-0, Toran Ribes won her match with Shimizu in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, on court four. At the No. 2 position, No. 77 Vogasari followed with her own 6-3, 6-4 victory against Sabe and to secure the match for Kansas.
 
Playing out the remaining matches, Dovnik edged Amber Policare on court six, 7-6 (8), 6-2, winning Purdue’s only point on the day.
 
At the No. 3 position, Koch won her first set, 6-4, and outlasted Babic in the second set, 7-6 (4). No. 1-ranked Rychagova dropped her first set to Ambrosio, 6-4, on court one. She then claimed the final two sets to win the match in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
 
The Jayhawks return to action next weekend, as Kansas hosts Wichita State (5 p.m.) Friday and Gonzaga (12 p.m.) Sunday. Both matches will take place at the Jayhawk Tennis Center at Rock Chalk Park.
 
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