Texas Tech Athletics
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Kansas
Tech hosting two conference matches this weekend
March 22, 2023 | Women's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – For the first time since Feb. 5, the No. 43 Texas Tech Lady Raiders are back at home as they host two conference matches this weekend.
First, Tech (10-6, 0-2 Big 12) takes on the No. 20 Kansas Jayhawks at 12 p.m. on Friday, March 24 at the McLeod Tennis Center. Then, the Lady Raiders are back at The McLeod on Sunday, March 26 at 10 a.m. for a contest against the Kansas State Wildcats.
Last week, the Lady Raiders opened conference play on the road at No. 22 Oklahoma and at No. 17 Oklahoma State. Against the Sooners, Metka Komac posted a come-from-behind win over Emma Staker at court five with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 score for Tech's only point of the match.
Then, on Sunday afternoon, the Lady Raiders posted their 10th doubles point of the year against the Cowgirls when they picked up wins at courts one and three. At one, Komac and Sayfetdinova earned a ranked win against No. 31 Raquel Gonzalez and Ayumi Miyamoto, 6-4, while Yekaterina Dmitrichenko and Camryn Stepp clinched the point with a tiebreaker win at court three. Dmitrichenko also added the Lady Raiders' lone singles win at court four when she beat Martina Zerulo, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 1-0 (8).
Dmitrichenko leads the team with nine dual singles wins while freshman Arina Oreshchenkova is right behind with eight. In doubles, both pairings of Komac and Sayfetdinova, as well as Olivia Peet and Cristina Tiglea have a team-high seven dual wins. In the ITA rankings, Komac and Tiglea are ranked No. 47 in doubles and Komac/Sayfetdinova check in at No. 50.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The No. 20 Kansas Jayhawks have an 11-3 overall record and are 2-2 in Big 12 play. Some of their wins include Oregon, Arizona, No. 44 SMU and No. 22 Old Dominion. Their three losses come against No. 14 Texas, No. 10 Iowa State and No. 16 Michigan. Tech and Kansas also met on Feb. 18 in Lawrence, Kan., with the Jayhawks winning by a 4-0 score. In the rankings, Kansas has one player ranked in singles as Malkia Ngounoue sits at No. 56. Ngounoue and Heike Janse Van Vuuren are also ranked No. 61 in doubles.
Kansas State comes into the weekend with a 2-14 overall record, while being 0-4 in conference. Their two wins are over Florida Atlantic and Kansas City. Some key losses were against No. 8 Stanford, Arkansas, Iowa, No. 44 SMU, No. 10 Iowa State and No. 14 Baylor. In dual singles, Florentine Dekkers posts a team-best six wins spanning over courts one, two and three. In doubles, Dekkers and Aleen Quamar lead with three wins, all at court three.
Opponents in the Rankings
Singles
Kansas
No. 56 Malkia Ngounoue
Doubles
Kansas
No. 61 Malkia Ngounoue/Heike Janse Van Vuuren
FOLLOW ALONG
Live video and live stats will be available for both matches. Admission into the matches is free. Follow @TexasTechWTEN on Twitter for updates and scores of the matches.
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Players Mentioned
