Texas University continued its domination against Kansas University’s women’s tennis team Saturday, defeating the Jayhawks, 6-1, at the First Serve Complex.
“They’re not ranked 20th in the nation right now for nothing,” KU coach Amy Hall-Holt said. “Anybody in the Big 12 always wants to go after the Longhorns.”
Texas (2-0) has defeated the Jayhawks 19 consecutive times and represents the only Big 12 Conference team the Jayhawks have never beaten.
Early in the Big 12 opener for both squads, KU – ranked 59th in the country – showed some promising signs of reversing that skid. The Jayhawks’ No. 1 doubles team of Elizaveta Avdeeva and Edina Horvath defeated Texas’ Sarah Lancaster and Courtney Zauft, 8-4.
The No. 3 KU team, Ksenia Bukina and Yuliana Svistun, narrowly lost, 9-8 (3), in an extended match against the Longhorns’ Vanja Corovic and Marija Milic.
“It’s probably the best doubles I’ve seen us play this year,” Hall-Holt said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t carry that intensity level over to singles.”
Instead, after narrowly losing two of the three doubles matches, KU (1-3) lost all but one of the singles matches.
Avdeeva served as the lone bright the spot. Playing in the No. 1 position, she defeated Petra Dizdar, 6-2, 6-7 (5) 6-3, in an extended, grueling three-hour match. Afterward, Texas coach Patty Fendick-McCain congratulated Avdeeva, telling her, “fantastic game.”
The junior from Obninsk, Russia, continues to improve. Last year she lost, 6-0, 3-6, 1-0 (3), to Dizdar.
“Liza played a fabulous singles match,” said Hall- Holt, who declined to let her players speak to the media Saturday. “Her attitude, her will to win, is getting stronger every time.”
Avdeeva excelled by working the baseline and forcing Dizdar on the defensive, but like the rest of Jayhawks, she must perfect her serving.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Hall-Holt said. “Trying to focus a lot on serves and returns is a big thing for our team.”
Injuries also hampered KU. Stephanie Smith, who underwent ankle surgery before Christmas, did not play. Also, Bukina retired in a 6-1, 1-0 injury default to Zauft.
Hall-Holt said NCAA rules prevented her from revealing the nature of Bukina’s injury, but did say Smith should return “soon.”
Kansas next faces Syracuse University in Winston-Salem, N.C., next Saturday.