Tennis Falters at No. 65 Kansas
March 22, 2015 04:39 PM | General
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| Sophomore Kaja Mrgole fell to KU's Luduena in a three-set battle with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s tennis team came up short against No. 65 Kansas, 4-0, at the Jayhawk Tennis Center, in Lawrence, Sunday afternoon.
“There is a lot of work to be done. I thought we had a solid start going into singles, in which we battled well in the first half,” said second-year coach Miha Lisac. “It was good to take those steps forward, but there is a lot of work for us to do in terms of finishing matches. Again, a lot of credit goes to Kansas, as they battled all the way through each court today.”
The Mountaineers (9-6, 0-3 Big 12) fell behind early, when senior Ikttesh Chahal and freshman Habiba Shaker dropped a 6-1 decision on court two to Kansas’ Madison Harrison and Smith Hinton. On court one, junior Hailey Barrett and freshman Carolina Lewis suffered a 6-3 setback to Kansas’ Maria Belen Luduena and Alexis Czapinski to give the Jayhawks a one-point match advantage.
Despite losing the doubles point, sophomore Kaja Mrgole (No.1), Barrett (No.2), Shaker (No. 4) and Lewis (No. 5) each tallied first set wins on their respective courts.
At the No. 3 slot, Chahal fell to KU’s Harrison in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2. Freshman Yvon Martinez then stumbled against KU’S Czapinski in straight sets on court six (6-3, 6-1).
To close out the contest, KU’s Luduena came from behind to win on court one in a three-set battle, as she secured the win for the Jayhawks with a score 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. With the match decided, Barrett’s (No. 2), Shaker’s (No. 4) and Lewis’ (No.5) matches were abandoned.
WVU returns home to host its first Big 12 conference match of the season, as it welcomes No. 6 Baylor on Friday, March 27 at 1 p.m. The Mountaineers will then face No. 36 Texas on Sunday, March 29. The match against the Longhorns is set to begin at 10 a.m.
West Virginia will wear pink jerseys in support of breast cancer awareness. The matches will be held at Ridgeview Racquet Club, unless the weather permits outdoor play.
Singles Competition
No. 1: Maria Belen Luduena (KU) def. Kaja Mrgole (WVU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
No. 2: Smith Hinton (KU) vs. Hailey Barrett (WVU), 4-6, 7-6, 4-0, unfinished
No. 3: Madison Harrison (KU) def. Ikttesh Chahal (WVU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 4: Summer Collins (KU) vs. Habiba Shaker (WVU), 2-6, 6-2, 5-5, unfinished
No. 5: Rachel McNeely (KU) vs. Carolina Lewis (WVU), 6-7, 4-5, unfinished
No. 6: Alexis Czapinski (KU) def. Yvon Martinez (WVU), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles Competition
No. 1: Maria Belen Luduena/Alexis Czapinski (KU) def. Hailey Barrett/Carolina Lewis (WVU), 6-3
No. 2: Madison Harrison/Smith Hinton (KU) def. Ikttesh Chahal/Habiba Shaker (WVU), 6-1
No. 3: Summer Collins/Rachel McNeely (KU) def. Kaja Mrgole/Yvon Martinez (WVU), 5-3, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1); Singles (3, 6, 1)
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