Jayhawks Fall to TTU in Big 12 Opener, 4-0
| Kansas x, #17 Texas Tech x Jayhawk Tennis Center March 13, 2015 |
| Doubles |
| No. 1 – Kenna Killgo/Gabriella Talaba (TTU) def. Maria Jose Cardona/Maria Belen Luduena (KU) 6-4 |
| No. 2- Madison Harrison/Smith Hinton (KU) vs. Sabrina Federici/Lynn Kiro (TTU) 3-4 unfinished |
| No. 3 – Sarah Dvorak/Katelyn Jackson (TTU) def. Alexis Czapinski/Summer Collins (KU) 6-3 |
| Order of Finish: 1,3 |
| Singles |
| No. 1 – Maria Belen Luduena (KU) vs. Kenna Kilgo (TTU)7-6, 2-2 unfinished |
| No. 2 – Maria Jose Cardona (KU) vs. Sara Dvorak (TTU) 6-7, 2-1 unfinished |
| No. 3 – Gabriella Talaba (TTU) def. Smith Hinton (KU) 6-1, 6-4 |
| No. 4 – Lynn Kiro (TTU) def. Madison Harrison (KU) 6-2, 6-2 |
| No. 5 – Rachel McNeely (KU) vs. Sabrina Federici (TTU) 3-6, 1-3 unfinished |
| No. 6 – Katelyn Jackson (TTU) def Summer Collins (KU) 6-1, 6-4 |
| Order of Finish: 4,6,3 |
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s tennis opened Big 12 play Friday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center, falling to No. 19 Texas Tech, 4-0.
Texas Tech clinched the doubles point and led Kansas, 1-0, after match.
Senior Maria Belen Luduena and junior Maria Jose Cardona played first in the doubles bout and suffered the first loss on the day for the Jayhawks against TTU’s Kenna Kilgo and Gabriella Talaba. The duo took a quick lead before Texas Tech battled back and took the match, 6-4.
Freshmen Summer Collins and Alexis Czapinski paced the Jayhawks on court three to an early lead over Sarah Dvorak and Katelyn Jackson, but the Lady Raiders pulled away to seal the doubles victory, 6-3.
“I thought we were good in spurts,” head coach Todd Chapman said. “Texas Tech is a good team and we have to be able to maintain energy, emotion and intensity.”
It took the first three matches of the singles competition to decide the winner in the Big 12 opening matchup.
Luduena faced off against Kilgo on court one, while Cardona toed the line against Dvorak on court two. Both matches ceased to finish after entering the first tie-break.
The deciding matches featured freshman Madison Harrison falling to TTU’s Lynn Kiro in two sets, 6-2, 6-2, on court four. Court six matched Collins against Jackson, where the Lady Raider came out on top, 6-1, 6-4.
The final decision came on court three where freshman Smith Hinton fell to TTU’s Gabriella Talaba, 6-1, 6-1.
“The biggest thing is that we need experience,” Chapman said. “We need to be put in these situations where we can see what we need to work on. Teams like Texas Tech expose the areas we need to get better at. The important thing is we’re competitive against good teams and we have been all year.”
The Jayhawks (4-7) are back in action March 15, when they play host to No. 27 TCU in their second Big 12 match of the season. First serve is slated for 12 p.m., at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
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