Jayhawks Close Out 2015 Home Slate with Tulsa Wednesday

THE BASELINE
The  Kansas women’s tennis team will close out its home schedule when it plays host to Tulsa in a midweek matchup on April 8. The Jayhawks posted a shutout victory over Sunflower Showdown rival Kansas State in their most recent outing, sending off lone senior Maria Belen Luduena with her first-career win over the Wildcats and snapping a six-match losing streak against the KSU. Match play versus Tulsa is set to begin at 2 p.m., at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.

THE SERIES: KANSAS VS. TULSA
Kansas trails the all-time series with Tulsa, 11-12-1 having dropped the last twelve meetings between the two programs. In the two programs’ last meeting on March 8, 2014, the Hurricanes defeated Kansas 6-1. During that meeting, then-junior Maria Belen Luduena and then-sophomore Maria Jose Cardona picked up a win over Tulsa doubles pair Pedrazzi/Fernandez. Kansas’ only point came from former Jayhawk women’s tennis player Paulina Los who defeated Tulsa’s Kuricova in straight-sets 7-5, 6-3.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANES
Tulsa enters Wednesday’s match with a 12-9 overall record. The Hurricanes kicked off dual-match play on Jan. 17, winning their first five matches of the season. Tulsa has won seven of their last 14 matches, including a win over North Texas, who Kansas was defeated by in a 4-3 decision, and a 4-3 loss to Houston, who the Jayhawks ousted 4-3 on Valentine’s Day. The Hurricanes have played 11 ranked opponents this season and have picked up wins over two, No. 53 Utah and No. 55 San Jose State, in January. Tulsa does not feature any seniors on its roster and is led by sophomore Marcelina Cichon, who compiled a 31-6 singles record in her debut season at Tulsa, including a 20-3 record in dual play. The sophomore is tied for second most wins by a freshman in school history and was named to both the Conference USA Singles First Team and the Conference USA Doubles First Team long with junior, Renata Kuricova.

KEEPING UP WITH KANSAS
Live match statistics can be found on KUAthletics.com or by following the @KansasTennis on twitter. 

KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.