Six Jayhawks ranked in first 2019 poll
Singles Rankings // Doubles Rankings
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Six players on Kansas’ 11th-ranked tennis team have earned rankings in the first Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles and doubles polls of the spring 2019 season.
The ITA has ranked seniors Nina Khmelnitckaia and Janet Koch the No. 3 doubles tandem in the country. They are 2-0 this spring, including a victory over Oklahoma State’s 21st-ranked team of Sofia Blanco and Catherine Gulihur. Khmelnitckaia and Koch have picked up where they left off last fall, when they took home the doubles title at the Riviera ITA All-American Championships.
Junior Maria Toran Ribes and freshman Malkia Ngounoue are ranked for the first time, checking in at No. 41.
Freshman Sonia Smagina has quickly shown the ability to play at a high level with multiple teammates. Smagina is ranked with three different Jayhawks: Koch (No. 47), Ngounoue (No. 48) and senior Anastasia Rychagova (No. 57).
Meanwhile, two Kansas seniors are ranked in the singles poll. After starting the year ranked No. 124, Koch has battled her way to the No. 50 spot. Rychagova fought her way through injury in the 2018 season and after a stellar start this spring, she comes in ranked No. 53, a jump from No. 109 in the November ITA poll.
The Jayhawks, 3-1 in dual matches this spring, will look to continue their positive momentum when they face off today against former Big 12 opponent Nebraska at 4 p.m., at the Jayhawk Tennis Center at Rock Chalk Park.
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