LAWRENCE, Kan. – Facing its second ranked opponent in three days, Kansas tennis fell to No. 22 Oklahoma, 7-0 at the Jayhawk Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
The loss comes after falling to No. 7 Texas on Thursday, 4-2. Kansas began the weekend action against Saint Louis on Thursday morning, ending the Billikens’ 12-match unbeaten streak by a score of 4-0.
The Jayhawks fall to 6-12 overall and 3-6 in Big 12 Conference play, while Kansas has taken on nine ranked opponents this season. Oklahoma improves to 12-5 overall and 7-2 in Big 12 match play.
The action began on Saturday with doubles, where Oklahoma took the early advantage on courts one and three. On court one, Kansas’ Gracie Mulville and Jocelyn Massey fell to Oklahoma’s Roisin Gilheany and Dana Guzman, 6-1.
Kansas would strike back with a win in doubles on court two, as the duo of Kyoka Kubo and Heike Janse Van Vuuren put together a strong performance to defeat Zdena Safarova and Julia Garcia Ruiz, 6-2. Oklahoma would then clinch the doubles point on court three, as Kansas’ Maria Titova and Tamari Gagoshidze fell to Ava Catanzarite and Chloe Noel, 6-3.
In singles, Oklahoma continued its strong play with a win on court one, as Mulville fell to Garcia Ruiz, 6-4, 6-2 in straight sets. Titova then fell to Guzman on court two, 6-1, 6-4.
Trailing 3-0, Kubo struggled to find an advantage against Shscherbinina, who took court three, 6-3, 6-1. Oklahoma took the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Kansas’ Jasmine Adams on court six.
With the match decided, Oklahoma’s Noel and Massey battled to a third set tiebreaker, where Noel came out victorious, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-4). Court four also went to three sets, as Van Vuuren battled with Urrutia but came up short, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6).
Kansas will next travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers on Friday, April 5, before traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio to face the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday, April 7.
The Jayhawks will then return home for their final three matches of the season as Kansas takes on Wichita State and Houston on Friday, April 12, followed by a match with UCF on Sunday, April 14.
