The Kansas women’s tennis team is on to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019.
The Jayhawks defeated Charlotte 4-2 in match play on Friday at Raleigh, North Carolina. To advance out of the second round, Kansas will have its work cut out for it. KU will play North Carolina State, the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament at 3 p.m. today.
NC State, the host school for the regional, steamrolled South Carolina State 4-0 on Friday to advance to the second round.
KU entered the tournament as the 25th ranked team in the country, and improved its overall record to 15-7 after Friday’s victory.
The Jayhawks got the victory on Friday despite suffering a bit of an upset in doubles action. KU’s top doubles team of Malkia Ngounoue and Heike Janse Van Vuuren — ranked as the 64th best doubles team in the country — lost to Charlotte’s top doubles team by a 6-3 score.
But KU’s second and third doubles team cruised to victories to give Kansas crucial team points. In singles play, KU won four of six matches to win the team match. Ngounoue, the 71st ranked singles player in the country, Roxana Manu, Jocelyn Massey, and Silvia Costache all won singles matches for KU.
