A sweep of the six singles matches by the Kansas University women’s tennis squad gave KU a 6-1 victory over Iowa State on Sunday, increasing the Jayhawks’ winning streak to six.
“The girls are definitely working hard in practice, and it’s paying off in our matches. It’s making our matches a little bit simpler and a lot more fun,” Kansas coach Amy Hall-Holt said after the Jayahawks’ victory at First Serve.
The Jayhawks (11-6, 2-3) came out a little slow in their doubles matches, losing two of the three and giving the Cyclones the first point – and their only point – of the day.
“It’s really important to see that we can do that. Even though we are really good at doubles, these girls were just better today, but it’s no big deal,” said Christine Skoda, who lost her doubles match with teammate Stephanie Smith, 9-7, then defeated ISU’s Beth Chermel, 6-0, 6-3, in singles.
“Singles and doubles are pretty different,” Skoda said. “So knowing that … you win the doubles point, it gives you momentum. But knowing that if you lose it, it’s not the end of the world.”
Ksenia Bukina and Elizaveta Avdeeva teamed for Kansas’ only doubles victory, 8-3.
The way in which Edina Horvath defeated Iowa State’s Chrissy Derovin in the No. 5 singles match mirrored how the Jayhawks’ season has gone thus far.
After a back-and-forth first set – which Horvath won, 7-5 – she clinched the final singles victory for KU by serving six straight game points in the second – going 7-5, 6-0 for the match.
“In the first set, I missed a lot of balls, and I felt that I really wasn’t warming up,” Horvath said. “In the second, my serve was really good, and I didn’t miss as much as in the first set.”
The 7-5 victory in Horvath’s first set was the only threat Kansas received from Iowa State, as no other set in singles play went beyond nine points.
The victory against the Cyclones completed a sweep of two visiting Big 12 Conference opponents over the weekend – the Jayhawks also defeated Oklahoma, 5-2, on Saturday.
“It’s always huge getting a Big 12 win, and now being 2-3 in conference,” Hall-Holt said. “It’s a great motivator for the girls as we’re looking to go to Nebraska this week. And, hopefully, we can keep that momentum going into the match with them.”
Kansas will travel to Nebraska on Wednesday before returning next weekend for its final two home matches of the season.