University of Illinois
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#16 Kansas
Illini Fall to Jayhawks in Season Opener
January 25, 2019 | Women's Tennis
STILLWATER, Okla. - The 18th-ranked Illinois women's tennis team fell to No. 16 Kansas, 4-2 on Friday afternoon at the Greenwood Tennis Center. The Illini will play the loser of the No. 10 Oklahoma State/No. 21 Virginia match tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT.
Doubles play saw KU earn an early advantage in the match. The Jayhawks grabbed wins at the No. 2 and 3 positions to go into singles play up 1-0.
The Illini got off to a slow start in singles action, dropping the first set on five of six courts. Sophomore Emilee Duong got the Orange and Blue on the board, however, taking down Malkia Ngounoue, 6-4, 6-2, on court four.
The Jayhawks' No. 30-ranked Janet Koch topped senior Jaclyn Switkes, 6-0, 6-4, while fellow-senior Daniela Pedraza Novak fell to Plobrung Plipuech, 7-6(7-5), 6-1, on court three. No. 70-ranked Nina Khmelnitckaia clinched the match for Kansas with a 7-5, 6-4 win over sophomore Mia Rabinowitz.
Illini Quotes
"Give a lot of credit to Kansas. They are a great team and are well coached. There is no doubt they will have a successful year," said head coach Evan Clark. "Of course it was not the start we were looking for but I was really pleased with the way our team competed after the doubles point. We gave ourselves a shot at almost every singles spot and couldn't quite capitalize to turn the match in our favor."
"We have another tough out tomorrow but we are excited to compete and have another opportunity against a very good Virginia team tomorrow."
#16 Kansas 4, #18 Illinois 1
Doubles-Order of Finish: 3, 2*
1. #5 Koch/Khmelnitckaia (KU) vs. Belaya/Pedraza Novak (Illinois) 3-3, unf.
2. #27 Rychagova/Smagina (KU) def. Switkes/Duong (Illinois) 6-1
3. Ngounou/Toran Ribes (KU) def. Kawai/Rabinowitz (Illinois) 6-1
Singles-Order of Finish: 4, 2, 3, 5*
1. Anastasia Rychagova (KU) vs. Asuka Kawai (Illinois) 6-4, 5-6 unf.
2. #30 Janet Koch (KU) def. Jaclyn Switkes (Illinois) 6-0, 6-4
3. Plobrung Plipuech (KU) def. Daniela Pedraza Novak (Illinois) 7-6(7-5), 6-1
4. Emilee Duong (ILL) def. Malkia Ngounoue (KU) 6-4, 6-2
5. #70 Nina Khmelnitckaia (KU) def. Mia Rabinowitz (Illinois) 7-5, 6-4
6. Sonia Smagina (KU) vs. Sasha Belaya (Illinois) 5-7, 6-5 unf.
Records: Illinois (0-1) | Kansas (2-0)
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