Kansas Topples North Texas, 5-0
| Kansas 5, North Texas 0 JayhawkTennis Center February 6, 2016 |
| Doubles |
| No. 1 – Tamuna Kutubidze/Maria Kononova (UNT) def. Nina Khmelnitckaia/Janet Koch (KU) 6-3 |
| No. 2 – Maria Jose Cardona/Summer Collins (KU) def. Alexis Thoma/Minying Liang (UNT) 7-5 (9-7) |
| No. 3 – Smith Hinton/Anastasiya Rychagova (KU) def Anastasiya Shestakova/Agustina Valenzuela (UNT) 7-6 (7-5) |
| Order of Finish: 1,3,2 |
| Singles |
| No. 1 – Anastasiya Rychagova (KU) def. Maria Kononova (UNT) 6-3, 7-4 |
| No. 2 – Smith Hinton (KU) def. Tamuna Kutubidze (UNT) 6-1, 6-0 |
| No. 3 – Janet Koch (KU) def. Anastasiya Shestakova (UNT) 6-2, 6-1 |
| No. 4 – Nina Khmelnitckaia (KU) def. Alexis Thoma (UNT) 6-3, 7-5 |
| No. 5 – Summer Collins (KU) vs.. Minying Liang (UNT) 2-5, unfinished |
| No. 6 – Maria Jose Cardona (KU) vs.. Agustina Valenzuela (UNT) 3-2, unfinished |
| Order of Finish: 2,3,1,4 |
LAWRENCE, Kan.— Kansas women’s tennis remained perfect on the season by defeating North Texas, 5-0, Saturday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. With the win, Kansas improved to 5-0 on the season, while North Texas fell 1-3.
“We’re off to a great start, but not necessarily just because we’re 5-0, it’s more about how we’re competing and how the girls are taking each challenge,” Kansas head coach Todd Chapman said. “Today is a great example, we were in some bad positions in doubles, like down 5-1 in number three doubles and we found a way to come back and just keep fighting and giving ourselves a chance. I think that’s indicative of our season and the team that we have so far as we’ve found ways to keep fighting through those tough situations and that’s the most exciting thing for me going forward.”
The Jayhawks started off the match by fighting to secure the doubles point. On court one, freshmen Nina Khmelnitckaia and Janet Koch dropped the match, 6-3, to Tamuna Kutubidze and Tamuna Kononova.
The Jayhawks came back to even the doubles standings 1-1 with a 7-6 win from freshman Anastasiya Rychagova and sophomore Smith Hinton on court three. The Jayhawks rallied from down 5-1 against opponents Anastasiya Shestakova and Agustina Valenzuela of North Texas, but came back for the win after a close tie break that ended at 7-5.
With the doubles standings tied at 1-1, sophomore Summer Collins and senior Maria Jose Cardona claimed the doubles point for Kansas by defeating UNT’s Minying Liang and Alexis Thoma, 7-6. The win was secured after a lengthy tie-break that finished 9-7 in Kansas’ favor.
After a lengthy doubles competition, Hinton pushed Kansas’ lead to 2-0 by making quick work of Kububidze. Hinton won on court two in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-0. Koch followed closely behind by defeating UNT’s Shestakova, 6-2, 6-1 on court three for a 3-0 KU lead.
Rychagova clinched the match for Kansas by besting Kononova 6-3, 6-4 on court one. It was a hard-fought win for the Jayhawk as she battled back from being down 4-1 in the second set. With the win, Rychagova, who is ranked No. 45 in the ITA singles rankings, remains undefeated in her 2016 campaign.
Khmelnitckaia closed out the scoring for the Jayhawks as she topped UNT’s Thoma on court four, 6-3, 7-5.
Up Next
Kansas will return to the Jayhawk Tennis Center on Sunday, February 7th to match against the Colorado Buffaloes. Colorado enters Sunday’s match with a 3-3 record. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m.
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