No. 30 Kansas tops K-State, 4-2, on senior day

Anastasia Rychagova and Janet Koch high five after their No. 2 doubles victory.

No. 30 Kansas 4, Kansas State 2
Jayhawk Tennis Center
Lawrence, Kan.

April 15, 2017

 DOUBLES

No. 1 #32 Bernard-Feigenbaum/Khmelnitckaia (KU) def. Stretton/Panaite (KSU) 6-2
No. 2 Koch/Rychagova (KU) def. Costamagna/Mesquita (KSU) 6-3
No. 3 Bago/Cirnu (KSU) win by forfeit

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

 SINGLES

No. 1 #78 Rychagova (KU) def. Costamagna (KSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0
No. 2 Bernard-Feigenbaum (KU) def. Stretton (KSU) 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 Koch (KU) vs. Mesquita (KSU) 2-6, 7-6 (9-7) 6-5 DNF
No. 4 Garcia Navas (KSU) def. Khmelnitckaia (KU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 Nikolaeva (KU) def. Panaite (KSU) 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 Cirnu (KSU) wins by forfeit

Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 4, 2
 Stats Box Score (.PDF)

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Senior Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum’s rally in her No. 2 singles match, after a first set loss, proved to be the difference in No. 30 Kansas’ 4-2 win against in-state rival Kansas State Saturday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
 
Bernard-Feigenbaum, the lone senior on the roster, had the match-clinching win to give the Jayhawks the victory on senior day. In her first set, Bernard-Feigenbaum was down, 4-0, and won five straight games to eventually force a tiebreaker. She dominated the second set and battled throughout the  third to ultimately win the match, 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 6-4, over Millie Stretton. Bernard-Feigenbaum improved to 13-4 in spring play and 22-8 overall.
 
“I think it (Tess clinching the match) was very fitting,” said head coach Todd Chapman. “It couldn’t have played out any better. To see it happen like that, it was just one of those things she had to go and take it. Her opponent played a tough, gritty match as well. I think it shows the growth in her emotions and mental toughness, but it also shows her growth as far as a competitor. It was a great way to close the match out and it couldn’t have happened in a better way.”
 
The No. 32-ranked pair of Bernard-Feigenbaum and Nina Khmelnitckaia downed Stretton and Maria Panaite, 6-2, at the No. 1 spot and moved to 13-6 in spring play and 19-9 overall. Sophomore duo of Janet Koch and Anastasia Rychagova topped Carolina Costamagna and Ines Mesquita, 6-3, at the No. 2 spot to give the Jayhawks the doubles point.
 
Rychagova was down 3-0 in the first set and came back to tie the match, 6-6, and was able to top Costamagna in the back-and-forth tiebreaker, 7-5. Rychagova then blanked Costamagna in the second set and won the match, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0, at the No. 1 spot.
 
“Kansas State came out and played really well at the beginning of a lot of singles matches,” said Chapman. “It was a tough, hard-fought match all the way through. It wasn’t anything that anyone gave us. We had to go and take it. We’ve had a little bit of adversity the past couple weeks with some situations where maybe we doubted ourselves or haven’t approached the situation the right way. We had to step up and that’s what I’m most proud of. We had to go take it from a good team.”
 
Freshman Tatiana Nikolaeva was the first to finish her singles match after she cruised to a 6-4, 6-3 win at the No. 5 spot against the Wildcats’ Panaite. Khmelnitckaia couldn’t overcome Ana Garcia Navas at the No. 4 spot and dropped the match, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
 
After dropping the first set, 6-2, Koch won two-consecutive games in the second set to force a tiebreaker and came out on top, 9-7, to take the match to a third set. Koch and Mesquita played a back-and-forth third set, but the match was stopped with Koch leading 6-5 due to Bernard-Feigenbaum clinching the match point.
 
“We talk a lot about our process,” said Chapman. “(Saturday) was the first time in the past couple weeks that I saw the team we’ve been the majority of the year. We’re going to Texas to play two really good teams and we’re going to have to be competitive with them. I’m excited. We’re going to be challenged and tested by two high-quality opponents.”
 
The Jayhawks will finish out the regular season on the road as they face No. 24 Texas at 4 p.m., Friday, at the Edgar O. and Melanie A. Weller Tennis Center and No. 15 Baylor at 1 p.m., Sunday, April 23 at the Hurd Tennis Center.
 
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