Vogasari advances to finals at regionals

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior Despoina Vogasari will compete in the singles finals after a pair of victories Sunday at the ITA Central Regional Championships presented by Oracle at the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence, Kansas.
 
In her first match of the day, Vogasari topped Natsuho Arakawa of Arkansas, 6-3, 6-3. Next, she downed Tulsa’s Martina Okalova, 6-0, 6-1, to advance to the final match. As a finalist, Vogasari earned a spot at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in November.
 
“The thing I’m happiest with about Debbie (Vogasari) was that she was very professional in her approach,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “She knew it had the potential to be a long day and she managed her matches very well. She’s always had the ability to be one of the best players in the country. Her game is coming together. She’s very deserving to be in the situation she’s in. I’m excited for her and our program.”
 
Tatiana Nikolaeva and Vogasari were not able to overcome the No. 1 seeded Arkansas duo of Leolia Jeanjean and Giulia Pairone and fell, 6-2, 4-6, 10-2, in the semifinal match.
 
“That’s one of the best teams in the country,” said Chapman. “In their first tournament playing together (they) pushed them (Arkansas) to the brink. Tanya (Nikolaeva) and Debbie had a great tournament. They responded really well after losing the first set and were gritty and tough in the second set.
 
“They earned their opportunities and stepped up to win. As everyone does, we wish they would have won, but they got beat by a good team. At the end of the day, I think they got beat, they didn’t lose.”
 
The final singles match will be played at 1 p.m., Monday.
 
Day 4 Results
 
Singles Quarterfinals
Vogasari (KU) def. Arakawa (UA) 6-3, 6-3
 
Singles Semifinals
Vogasari (KU) def. Okalova (TU) 6-0, 6-1
 
Doubles Semifinals
Jeanjean/Pairone (UA) def. Nikolaeva/Vogasari (KU) 6-4, 2-6, 10-2
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.