Three members of the Kansas tennis team dropped finals matches in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Summer Circuit event at the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence on Monday.
Sophomore Sonia Smagina, who played a huge role in the Jayhawks’ run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last spring fell to Martina Zerulo, of Arkansas, in the finals of the crimson women’s singles bracket.
Smagina won the first set, 6-2, and dropped the second second 6-3 to set up the first-one-to-10 super tiebreaker. Zerulo prevailed 10-4 in that finale to take the match.
In women’s doubles action, Malkia Ngounoue and Julia Demin dropped a tight title match to Nebraska’s Jessica Aragon and Claire Reifeis, 8-7.
KU was one of eight spots nationwide to host ITA Summer Circuit events last weekend, with Smagina competing in ITA action for the first time and Deming and Ngounoue returning to the circuit where they teamed to win the doubles title in Kansas City in late June and finished as runners-up in Norman, Okla., before that.
The weekend event, which ran Saturday through Monday, included 54 men and 56 women.
