No. 39 Kansas Tops Central Florida, 4-3

No. 39 Kansas 4, Central Florida 3
UCF Tennis Complex
March 21, 2014
Doubles
No. 1 – Maria Jose Cardona/Maria Belen Ludueña (KU) def. Courtney Griffith/Caroline Eberhart (UCF) 8-1
No. 2 – Dylan Windom/Paulina Los (KU) def. Sofia Baptista/Josephine Haraldson (UCF) 8-4
No. 3 -Caroline Henderson/Morgan Barnhill (KU) led Clare Mendell/Cortney Cesarini (UCF) 7-6 (DNF)
Order of Finish: 1, 2
Singles
No. 1 – Josephine Haraldson (UCF) def. Dylan Windom (KU) 1-6, 7-6, 6-1
No. 2 – Maria Jose Cardona (KU) def. Courtney Griffith (UCF) 6-7, 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 – Maria Belen Ludueña (KU) def. Caroline Eberhart (UCF) 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 – Paulina Los (KU) def. Cortney Cesarini (UCF) 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 – Sofia Baptista (UCF) def. Anastasija Trubica (KU) 6-4, 6-0
No. 6 – Clare Mendell (UCF) def. Caroline Henderson (KU) 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1

ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 39 Kansas women’s tennis completed its final non-conference match-up of the season with a 4-3 win over Central Florida at the UCF Tennis Complex Friday afternoon.

The Jayhawks (11-4, 2-0) won their 12th doubles point of the season, after claiming a win on the first and second courts. The Knights (4-8, 0-3) bounced back to tie Kansas in the singles, but the Jayhawks gained momentum and finished the match on top. Senior stand-out Paulina Los continues to shine in her final season, as her match Friday extended her win-streak to ten.

“I am really proud of our team,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “We ended our nine day, four match road trip on a winning note. We could have made a lot of excuses today, but instead we gutted out a victory.”

The meeting is the first for the pair, giving Kansas the series advantage, 1-0.

Kansas opened the match-up ahead, as sophomore Maria Jose Cardona and junior Maria Belen Ludueña rolled UCF’s Courtney Griffith and Caroline Eberhart, 8-1 at No. 1. The match marks the first time the Jayhawk duo has competed at the No. 1 spot.

Senior Dylan Windom and Los sealed the deal for Kansas, topping Sofia Baptista and Josephine Haraldson on court two, 8-4. Freshmen Caroline Henderson and Morgan Barnhill’s match was called following KU’s two wins.

The Jayhawks took their advantage to singles and won the first match from Ludueña who defeated Eberhart, 6-4, 6-1, on court three to give KU a 2-0 lead. UCF answered Kansas’ pair of points with two of its own. Mendell downed KU’s freshman Caroline Henderson on court six, 6-4, 6-1 and Baptista defeated sophomore Anastasija Trubica at No. 5, 6-4, 6-0.

With the match tied-up, Los pushed the Jayhawks ahead while capturing her 10th straight win in a row, defeating Cesarini in the third set, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. Cardona closed out the match after losing her first set, bouncing back to beat Griffith, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1. UCF’s final point came at No. 1 where Windom fell to Haraldson in the third set, 1-6, 7-6, 6-1.

UP NEXT
Kansas will return home after more than a week on the road to host Big 12 foe, Oklahoma State on March 28 at 3:30 p.m. The match will be televised on the Jayhawk Sports Network. Following the OSU match, Kansas will welcome Oklahoma on March 30 at noon.

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