Colorado
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Kansas
Buffs Drop 4-1 Decision To Undefeated Kansas
February 07, 2016 | Tennis
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Colorado's bid for an upset of undefeated Kansas came up just short as the Jayhawks defeated CU 4-1 in Lawrence, Kan., on Sunday. It was the second setback of the weekend for the Buffaloes, but head coach Nicole Kenneally was pleased with her team's effort.
"You want to walk away from a road trip going 2-0," Kenneally said. "This weekend that didn't happen. We had a lot of great things come out of this weekend. It was our best weekend of competition so far. It may not show in the scores, but we're playing great tennis. We played two solid teams. When you look at the process, the process is going really well."
Tina Bokhua, a native of Moscow, Russia, continued to roll for the Buffaloes, winning her sixth consecutive singles match as she upset 45th-ranked Anastasiya Rychagova, also a native of Moscow, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 at No. 1. Bokhua looked to be on her way to a straight-set victory as she led 4-1 in the second set, but recovered in the third after allowing Rychagova to come back in the second.
"Right now she's playing some of her best tennis," Kenneally said. "It's fun to watch and she's competing hard. We want her to continue to grow as well as the rest of the team. It was a great win for her today. Playing a fellow countrywoman can be tough, but she handled the situation great. There were some ups and downs in the matches and she was the one that was more up at the end."
Nuria Ormeño Ruiz nearly pulled out a victory at No. 2 singles, falling 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 to Smith Hinton in a back-and-forth match.
CU's other two singles matches were also very close, despite finishing in straight sets. Jeannez Daniel lost 7-6, 6-4, falling a break short in the second set at No. 3 and Annabelle Andrinopoulos lost 6-4, 7-6, falling a break short in the first set at No. 4.
The No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches were not completed, although Alex Aiello cruised through her first set 6-2 at No. 5 before play was suspended when the match was clinched.
Doubles gave the Buffs trouble on Sunday as they lost 6-2 at No. 1 and 6-0 at No. 3.
"Kansas played a great doubles point today, but in singles we came out fighting," Kenneally said. "In the scores you can see that it was really close. We don't like losses, but at the same time we're in everything and that's what we need to continue to see. We've got a lot of talent and we're gaining experience.
Sunday marks the first time this season the Buffs have lost consecutive matches as they dropped to 3-4 overall. KU improved to 6-0 on the season as the Jayhawks look to move into the national rankings.
"It's important that we're getting better every match," Kenneally. "That's what we need to continue to see. If we see that, good things are going to happen. I really like the fight that we had today after a disappointing loss on Friday night."
CU will be back in action on Friday at Northern Colorado.
Kansas 4, Colorado 1
Feb 07, 2016 at Lawrence, Kan. (Jayhawk Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Bokhua, Tina (COLO) def. #45 Rychagova,Anastasiya (KU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 |
| 2. Hinton, Smith (KU) def. Ormeño Ruiz, Nuria (COLO) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 |
| 3. Koch, Janet (KU) def. Daniel, Jeannez (COLO) 7-6, 6-4 |
| 4. Khmelnitckaia, Nina (KU) def. Andrinopoulos, Annabelle (COLO) 6-4, 7-6 |
| 5. Collins, Summer (KU) vs. Aiello, Alex (COLO) 2-6, 2-1, unfinished |
| 6. Cardona, Maria Jose (KU) vs. Wojcik, Kyra (COLO) 6-0, 3-0, unfinished |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Khmelnitckaia, Nina/Koch, Janet (KU) def. Bokhua, Tina/Ormeño Ruiz, Nuria (COLO) 6-2 |
| 2. Cardona, Maria Jose/Collins, Summer (KU) vs. Daniel, Jeannez/Andrinopoulos, Annabelle (COLO) 2-3, unfinished |
| 3. Rychagova,Anastasiya/Hinton, Smith (KU) def. Beck, Brigitte/Aiello, Alex (COLO) 6-0 |
| Match Notes |
| Colorado 3-4 |
| Kansas 6-0 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (4,3,1,2) |
| T-3:01 |
Players Mentioned
