Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.
The University of Kansas tennis team experienced a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon in Lawrence.
Senior Elizaveta Avdeeva returns a shot in the back court Saturday morning against the Baylor Bears. Avdeeva and her partner, junior Edina Horvath, lost the doubles match to the Bears in a 6-1 loss.
“Sometimes it can go either way,” German Dalmagro, Kansas assistant coach, said. “Unfortunately it didn’t go our way. I’m not disappointed in any of my players. I think they fought very hard and they competed like they should.”
After winning two of three doubles matches and two of the first three singles matches completed, Kansas jumped out to a 3-1 lead over the Red Raiders. Then the Jayhawks watched the lead slowly disintegrate as they fell in three tight matches down the stretch. Sunday’s loss, combined with a 6-1 loss to Baylor on Saturday, dropped Kansas to 7-10 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12 Conference.
Kansas’ strong doubles play continued against Texas Tech. Senior Lauren Hommell and junior Kunigunda Dorn topped Texas Tech’s Kerryn Potgieter and Brenna Jackson, 8-6. Also winning in doubles play was the freshmen tandem of Maria Martinez and Magdalena Tokarczyk, who defeated the Red Raiders’ Simone Templeton and Kelsy Garland, 9-7.
In singles play Hommell continued her hot streak by winning her fourth straight match. Hommell defeated Texas Tech’s Leah Roberts 6-4, 6-3 to move to 8-3 on the season.
“I feel like I’m playing pretty well at six (position),” Hommell said. “I like playing at six. I like winning for the team.
“I just hope I can keep it up at Texas and Texas A&M next weekend.”
Junior Yuliana Svistun also picked up a singles victory for the Hawks, defeating the Raiders’ Potgieter 6-3, 6-2.
It was a rough day for Kansas’ top doubles teams. Junior Edina Horvath and senior Elizaveta Avdeeva floundered in doubles play and later in singles. Horvath and Avdeeva lost a tie break to fall 9-8 (6) in their doubles match.
Avdeeva dropped her first set in singles and trailed in the second before fighting back to force a tie break. With the tie break score knotted up at 6-6 Avdeeva injured her ankle and fell to the ground. Although Avdeeva fought back and limped through the last point of the match, she wasn’t able to overcome the setback and fell to Tech’s Kelsy Garland 6-4, 7-6 (6).
“It’s sad to see her go down and not be able to come back and play,” Dalmagro said. “But she’s strong so I believe she is going to get back to us. It’s unfortunate but it happens.”
Horvath, the Hawks’ most winning singles player, was never able to find a rhythm in singles and fell to the Red Raiders’ Janet Durham 6-2, 6-0.
Tokarczyk suffered another heartbreaking defeat for the Jayhawks. After dropping the first set 6-4 to the Raiders’ Samantha van der Drift, Tokarczyk cruised in the second set, winning 6-1. However, in the third set Tokarczyk just didn’t have enough left in the tank and fell 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
Kansas’ Dorn lost to Tech’s Templeton 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the Hawks’ third close loss of the day.
Kansas is looking to rebound when it heads to Texas for a two-game road trip against some stiff competition. The road trip starts with No. 19 Texas on Friday and concludes with No. 31 Texas A&M on Sunday.
“I believe we are a very good, strong team from one to six and the same in doubles,” Dalmagro said. “If we compete the same way we competed today and the same way we competed against Baylor yesterday, I like my chances.
“We’re going to come out strong and I know we are going to do a good job in Texas.”
— Edited by Sasha Roe
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