No. 14-ranked Kansas tennis defeated West Virginia, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. The Jayhawks (15-4, 6-2 Big 12) have now won four consecutive conference matches, improving to third place in the league standings behind Texas and Oklahoma State.
The country’s No. 1-ranked duo of Janet Koch and Nina Khmelnitckaia made quick work of their match, blanking the Mountaineers’ Sofia Duran and Anstasia Bovolskaia by a 6-0 margin. Jayhawks Anastasia Rychagova and Sonia Smagina, ranked No. 60 in the nation, bested Paula Goetz and Nicole Roc for a 6-2 win.
Plobrung Plipuech extended KU’s lead to 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Duran at No. 2 singles. No. 113-ranked Koch bested Christina Jordan, 6-3, 6-2, moving Kansas one point away from the win. Malkia Ngounoue clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Giovanna Caputo.
Khmelnitckaia then defeated Bovolskaia in a third-set super tiebreaker, 6-2, 3-6, 11-9, at No. 4 singles. At No. 3 singles, Smagina bested Goetz, 6-3, 7-6(3), giving KU a 6-0 lead. Maria Toran Ribes fell short to Giovanna Caputo at No. 5 singles, also in a super tiebreaker, 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 10-4, to close out the scoring.
Kansas plays host to Kansas State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
