The Kansas women’s tennis team evened its spring dual record at 4-4 with a convincing 6-1 victory over Tulsa Tuesday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
Tulsa (8-4) moved up three spots to No. 33 in the country in the latest ITA Team Rankings, which were released on Tuesday. The Jayhawks, who were previously No. 42 in the nation, fell to No. 50.
Still, the Jayhawks got out to an early lead by earning the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. KU sophomore Sonia Smagina and freshman Carmen Roxana Manu, the No. 32 doubles tandem in the country, took care of Tulsa’s Megan Hopton and Laia Conde Monfort on court two, 6-2. Moments later, No. 46-ranked sophomore Malkia Ngounoue and freshman Luniuska Delgado beat Martina Okalova and Vera Ploner, 6-3.
KU kept its momentum going, winning five of the six matches in singles play. Senior Maria Toran Ribes defeated Lian Benedejcic of Tulsa, 6-3, 6-1, to earn another quick point for Kansas.
No. 74-ranked Smagina bested No. 92 Okalova in a hard-fought contest, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) on court one. Manu defeated Ploner, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, at No. 3 singles while fellow Kansas freshman Vasiliki Karvouni put away Tulsa’s Marina Davtyan on court six by scores of 6-3, 7-5. On court two, Ngounoue and Tulsa’s Shura Poppe battled it out until the very end, with the Jayhawk sophomore coming out on top, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, to net the win.
Kansas will travel to Illinois at 3 p.m. Friday.