Jayhawk Netters Head to Stillwater for ITA Central Regionals

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s tennis will send six players for singles play and field three doubles teams at the 2015 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Regionals, which will be held Oct. 15-18 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, at Oklahoma State’s Greenwood Tennis Center.
 
The winners of both singles and doubles at the ITA Central Regionals will automatically qualify for the National Indoor Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows, New York, which is the same site where the US Open is annually held.
 
“This is a tournament we look forward to every season because it gives us an opportunity to go up against all of the best teams in our region,” said Kansas head coach Todd Chapman. “We get to see how we stack up against the teams we will be facing in the spring and we can see exactly where we need to improve.”
 
The Jayhawks will be represented in Stillwater by senior Maria Jose Cardona, sophomores Summer Collins and Smith Hinton and freshmen Nina Khmelnitckaia, Janet Koch and Anastasiya Rychagova, as all six players will hit the courts in both singles and doubles.
 
Hinton leads the way in singles play as the second-year player has collected a 5-2 mark during the fall 2015 season, including wins in four of her last five matches. The trio of freshmen Jayhawks have also opened their collegiate careers on a positive note as Rychagova has amassed a 5-1 ledger, Khmelnitckaia is 3-1 and Koch is 2-1 in singles action.
 
Rychagova and Koch will play together in doubles action in Stillwater. The duo previously paired up together at the Little Rock Invitational, going 3-1. Hinton and Collins will play together, while Cardona and Khmelnitckaia will hit the courts as a tandem.
 
“The players are really excited to compete this weekend,” said Chapman. “They have prepared well and I am looking forward to seeing how that translates to the courts in Stillwater.”
 
Action will get underway at the Greenwood Tennis Center at 9 a.m., each day, with live updates by following along on Twitter @KansasTennis.
 
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