Three Jayhawks seeded at NCAA Championships, guaranteeing First-Team All-American status
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas seniors Nina Khmelnitckaia, Janet Koch and Anastasia Rychagova have all received automatic bids to the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championships next month.
Khmelnitckaia and Koch, the No. 3-ranked doubles team in the nation, will be seeded between fifth and eighth in the 32-team doubles draw. The duo, which earned the Big 12 Conference’s automatic bid, has registered a 16-1 record this spring, 9-0 vs. ranked opponents. Overall in 2018-19, they are 23-5, 15-3 vs. ranked opponents.
Rychagova, the 17th-ranked player in the nation, will be seeded between ninth and 16th in the 64-person singles bracket. She earned the Big 12’s automatic bid in singles, and enters the NCAA Team Championship with spring record of 17-2, including a 9-2 record against ranked opponents this dual-match season. Overall in 2018-19, Rychagova is 19-3, 10-3 vs. ranked opponents.
“It’s another great day to be a Jayhawk!” Kansas head tennis coach Todd Chapman said. “We are so happy for our three seniors to be selected for the individual portion of the NCAA Championships. Even more exciting is that by being seeded in the draw, all three have earned First-Team All-America honors. I know all three have lofty goals for themselves and that continues this weekend with us hosting the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Team Championship.”
NCAA singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 20-25 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, after the conclusion of the NCAA team championship.
Last spring, Khmelnitckaia and Rychagova teamed up to earn an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Doubles Championships, where they advanced to the Round of 16 before being eliminated by a team from Vanderbilt.
Live stats and streaming will be available as well as updates throughout the tournament on Kansas tennis’ social media accounts.
