Undefeated Kansas Tennis Downs No. 66 Houston, 4-3
| No. 70 Kansas 4, No. 66 Houston 3 John E. Hoffs Courts Feb. 14, 2014 |
| Doubles |
| No. 1 – Paulina Los/Dylan Windom (Kansas) def. Rocio Martin/Maria Andrea Cardenas (Houston) 8-6 |
| No. 2 – Elena Kordolaimi/Despoina Vogasari (Houston) def. Maria Jose Cardona/Maria Belen Ludueña (Kansas) 8-5 |
| No. 3 – Claire Dreyer/Morgan Barnhill (Kansas) def. Charlotte Phillips/Tina Rupert (Houston) 8-5 |
| Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3 |
| Singles |
| No. 1 – Despoina Vogasari (Houston) def. Dylan Windom (Kansas) 6-3, 6-2 |
| No. 2 – Elena Kordolaimi (Houston) def. Maria Jose Cardona (Kansas) 6-2, 6-3 |
| No. 3 – Maria Belen Luduena (Kansas) def. Maria Andrea Cardenas (Houston) 1-6, 6-2 (6-1) |
| No. 4 – Paulina Los (Kansas) def. Tina Rupert (Houston)2-6, 6-4 (3-1) RET. |
| No. 5 – Claire Dreyer (Kansas) def. Charlotte Phillips (Houston) 6-3, 6-3 |
| No. 6 – Celia Fraser (Houston) def. Trubica (Houston) 6-3, 6-1 |
| Order of Finish: 1,2,6,5,4 |
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Undefeated No. 70 Kansas tennis pushed its opening-season run to 6-0 with a 4-3 win over No. 66 Houston at the John E. Hoff courts Friday. The Jayhawks are two wins away from having the best dual season start in 20 years.
“Unbelievable win,” said first-year head coach Todd Chapman. “We were down 3-1 and the girls played so tough at that point. We batled adversity so well all day. I couldn’t be prouder of my team.”
Led by Chapman, Kansas (6-0, 0-0 Big 12) continues to lead the series with Houston (4-1, 0-0 ACC), 4-2. After defeating No. 36 Nebraska, this is the second ITA-ranked team Kansas has played and defeated.
Houston started the doubles competition with a win over Kansas as Elena Kordolaimi and Despoina Vogasari ended Maria Jose Cardona and Maria Belen Luduena’s five-match doubles winning streak with an 8-5 victory. On court one, Paulina Los and Dylan Windom battled with Rocio Martin and Maria Andrea Cardenas of Houston and pulled out a victory for the Jayhawks, 8-5. With the two matches completed, the doubles point came down to court three. Claire Dreyer and Morgan Barnhill ultimately pulled ahead of UH’s Charlotte Phillips and Tina Rupert, clinching an 8-5 and giving the Jayhawks the doubles point. KU has yet to lose the doubles point this season.
After gaining the first point, the Jayhawks continued on to singles play. Kansas struggled on the first two courts, as Houston’s Vogasari defeated Windom (6-3, 6-2) and Kordolaimi defeated Cardona (6-2, 6-3). With the two wins, Houston led the competition, 2-1. Houston’s run continued on to court six, where Celia Fraser downed KU’s Trubica in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. Houston extended its lead to 3-2. But after Houston claimed the first three victories, Kansas rallied. On court five, undefeated Dreyer knocked off Phillips (6-3, 6-3) and Luduena jumped back after a loss in the first set for a 1-6, 6-2 (6-1) win. With one court to go, Kansas and Houston were tied 3-3. Los and Rupert on court four battled it out for their respective team’s victory, but in the end, Rupert retired from the match during the super tiebreaker (2-6, 6-4 (3-1), giving the Jayhawks their sixth victory in a row and handing Houston its first loss of the season.
“I think you have to give Paulina Los and Claire Dreyer a lot of credit,” said Chapman. “They both went 2-0 against a really good Houston team. They really led our team today. Maria Belen Luduena had a gutsy effort at the No. 3 spot to clinch the match for us. The match didn’t start out very well for her, and she did a great job responding when we needed her.”
UP NEXT
The unbeated Jayhawks return home to Lawrence to play the UT-Arlington Mavericks at 12 p.m. in the Jayhawk Tennis Center. The following weekend Kansas will hit the road again to play Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky.
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos, and much, much more.
