Kansas seniors Nina Khmelnitckaia, Janet Koch and Anastasia Rychagova had their runs at the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Individual Championships come to an end in the Sweet 16 Wednesday afternoon at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.
Kansas’ No. 6-ranked Koch and Khmelnitckaia fell short to Tulsa’s No. 14-ranked Martina Okalova and Vera Ploner in a thrilling three-set match that went to three tiebreakers, 6-7(4), 7-6(10), 10-3. Koch and Khmelnitckaia finish their 2018-19 season with an overall record of 26-6, 17-4 vs. ranked opponents.
Rychagova, ranked No. 13 in the nation, was outlasted by Georgia’s No. 2-ranked Katarina Jokic, 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-3. Rychagova ends her 2018-19 season with an overall record of 22-4, including a 13-4 record against ranked opponents.
“Today did not end the way Nas, Janet and Nina hoped it would, but that does not diminish in any way the careers all three had as Jayhawks,” head coach Todd Chapman said in a team release. “We are thankful for their dedication and determination to help put Kansas back on the tennis map. We wish all three of them the best moving forward in the next chapters of their lives. We know they will all be successful in whatever they choose to do in life.”