Colorado
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Kansas
Tennis Wins Fourth Straight, Improves To 8-1
February 22, 2015 | Tennis
BOULDER - The No. 68 University of Colorado women's tennis team, playing its second match this weekend, defeated their old Big 12 rival the No. 75 University of Kansas Jayhawks, 4-2 Sunday afternoon at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center.
It was the fourth match against a ranked opponent for the Buffaloes this season, and the win moves their record against ranked opponents to 3-1 with their overall record for the season improving to 8-1. The loss drops Kansas to 4-6 and the Jayhawks have now lost six of their last eight matches to the Buffs.
“For these guys to come out this weekend and go 2-0 with the adversities we had was unbelievable,” said CU head coach Nicole Kenneally.
The 8-1 start, is CU's best since 1997 when the Buffaloes won their first 10 matches of the season.
Colorado started the match doing something they haven't done all season, dropping the doubles point. And they would have to climb back the rest of the day.
Kansas would start the scoring when the freshmen duo of Smith Hinton and Madison Harrison handed junior Alex Aiello and senior Ashley Tiefel only their second loss in 10 matches, and first of the spring, 6-3. The loss dropped Aiello and Tiefel to 6-1 for the spring and 8-2 overall.
Playing together for the first time this spring after a successful fall campaign, the ITA Mountain Region Champions, senior Julyette Steur and freshman Kyra Wojcik dropped an exciting, 7-6 (14-12) at No. 1 to senior Maria Luduena and junior Maria Cardona.
The match would go to a tiebreaker, and Steur/Wojcik would face six match points before dropping the seventh and final point. That point clinched the doubles point for Kansas.
Colorado's only win in doubles came when sophomore Vitaliya Alkhovik and freshman Erin Strachan defeated freshmen Rachel McNeely and Alexis Czapinski 7-6(7-3). It was the first time Alkhovik and Strachan played together, and Strachan's first collegiate doubles match and win.
Trailing 1-0 for the first time this spring season entering singles play, the home team evened the match at one as sophomore Nuria Ormeño Ruiz, playing in the No. 3 spot, defeated Smith Hinton in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Ormeño Ruiz has won her last four matches improving to 8-1 with her overall record at 12-5.
CU went ahead 2-1 on the scoreboard as Alex Aiello won her fourth straight defeating Maria Luduena, tiring her opponent out in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. It was Aiello's second three set match in as many days. The victory improves her spring mark to 7-1 and 13-6 overall.
“I was definitely frustrated after the second set,” said Aiello. “Last year, I played Luduena in Lawrence and we split sets, I ended up winning the third set tiebreaker. So I used that experience by thinking back to last year's match. And I knew that I wanted to close it out so that I could get the win for my team."
The final three Buffaloes were then placed in a position of having to step up and pull out the win. Those three women would respond to the adversity by winning the two points Colorado still needed.
“We have been talking all year about 4, 5, and 6 stepping up for us,” Kenneally said. “Today 4, 5, and 6 stepped up and they did their job. We need them digging, diving, scratching and clawing out there, and today they did exactly that and I'm really proud of them.”
Answering the call first was Kyra Wojcik, playing in the No. 4 spot, as she defeated Madison Harrison in straight sets 6-4, 6-0. The win improved Wojcik's record for the spring to 4-3. It was also her first career win at home.
With CU finally ahead 3-1, KU narrowed its deficit taking the No. 1 singles position, as Julyette Steur playing in the No. 1 spot for the third time this season, dropped her first match of the spring, 7-5, 5-7, 3-6 against Maria Cardona. It was only her second, three set match of the spring. The loss drops her record to 8-1 in the dual season and 14-3 overall.
The final clinching point would come from Vitaliya Alkhovik at No. 5 spot as she edged Rachel McNeely in straight sets 7-5, 7-5. It was the fifth time Alkhovik has played in the 5th spot and it was the first clinching point of her collegiate career. The win evens her record for the spring at 3-3.
The Buffaloes head out on the road next weekend to wrap up their non-conference schedule heading to Boise, Idaho facing Fresno State on Saturday, Feb. 28 (6 p.m. MST), then the host Broncos on Sunday, March 1 (10 a.m.).
No. 68 Colorado 4, No. 75 Kansas 2
CU (8-1, 0-0 Pac-12), Kansas (4-6, 0-0 Big 12)
Feb. 22, Rocky Mountain Tennis Center, Boulder, Colo.
1d) Cardona/Luduena (KU) def. Steur/Wojcik (CU) 7-6(2)
2d) Hinton/Harrison (KU) def. Aiello/Tiefel (CU) 6-3
3d) Alkhovik/Erin Strachan (CU) def. McNeely/Czapinski (KU) 7-6(4)
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*
1s) Maria Cardona (KU) def. Julyette Steur (CU) 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
2s) Alex Aiello (CU) def. Maria Luduena (KU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
3s) Nuria Ormeño Ruiz (CU) def. Smith Hinton (KU) 6-3, 6-3
4s) Kyra Wojcik (CU) def. Madison Harrison (KU) 6-4, 6-0
5s) Vitaliya Alkhovik (CU) def. Rachel McNeely (KU) 7-5, 7-5
6s) Erin Strachan (CU) vs. Alexis Czapinski (KU) 4-6, 4-5 – did not finish
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 4, 1, 5*
Players Mentioned
