Monday, April 24, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 5
Men's team falls in Big 12 race
Losses to Aggies, 'Horns drop Kansas to No. 4
By Brent Wasko
By Brent Wasko sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas men's tennis team had a rough finish to its regular season Friday and Saturday.
The Jayhawks fell from second to fourth in the Big 12 Conference after losing on the road to both Texas A&M and Texas, 6-1.
"It's a little frustrating because we were competing for second place," said Kansas coach Mark Riley. "I feel like we could have given a better effort. Texas A&M played like their lives depended on winning that match."
On Friday, the No. 58 Jayhawks lost to the No. 9 Aggies in College Station, Texas. The 'Hawks broke out of a recent doubles slump, winning two out of their three doubles matches. At No. 2 doubles, the Kansas team of sophomore Alex Barragan and freshman Eleazar
Magallan beat Texas A&M's Keith From and Dumitrul Caradima, 8-4. The Jayhawks' No. 3 doubles team of sophomore Quentin Blakeyen and freshman Pete Stroer beat the Aggies' Cody Hubbell and Gonzalo Anderson, 8-6.
"Winning the doubles point was big for us because it quieted the large Aggie crowd," Riley said. "Then we gave them the momentum by allowing them to win the first few singles matches decisively."
After capturing the doubles point, Kansas players never won another match. Texas A&M swept the Jayhawks in singles. Four of the six matches were decided in straight sets.
"They were sold at all of their positions," said Barragan, who lost his singles match to Ryan Newport, 2-6, 2-6. "We definitely could have played better, but I thought we played pretty tough."
Kansas followed its Texas A&M loss with a similar performance Saturday in Austin, Texas, as No. 15 Texas defeated the Jayhawks 6-1. The Longhorns got out to an early start, clinching the doubles point and winning five out of the six singles matches. The 'Hawks only
KANSAS TENNIS
point came from Blakeney, who beat Jorge Haro 6-3, 6-4.
"We just didn't finish the job in a lot of our matches," Riley said. "We were up in some of our singles matches but couldn't hold on the lead. We didn't respond the way we needed too."
With the losses, Kansas, 9-11 overall and 5-3 in the Big 12, now holds the No.4 seed in the upcoming Big 12 Conference championship in Kansas City, Mo.
The tournament will start Thursday, but the Jayhawks won't play until Friday. They will face the fifth-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys, whose match earlier this season with the Jayhawks was overturned by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association because the Cowboys improperly seeded their players.
"Playing in Kansas City will be helpful for us," Riley said. "I think our team still shows promise."
Everything is bigger in Texas, including Kansas' margin of defeat.
sports@kansan.com
Kansan.sportwriter
By Zac Hunter
Women's tennis team loses two
The No. 58 Kansas women's tennis team lost to No. 40 Texas A&M and No. 7 Texas last weekend, dropping the Jayhawks' to 12-11 overall and 5-6 in the Big 12 Conference.
Kansas lost 9-0 to Texas yesterday as the Longhorns breezed through the singles portion of the meet, losing only one set.
Before the conference season began, coach Jenny Garrity said that Texas was the team to beat but that it was possible that another team could replace them at the top of the Big 12.
But with its win against Kansas, Texas continued its absolute dominance of the Big 12 this season by not losing a conference meet. The Longhorns' conference winning streak is now 108, dating back to a victory against Southern Methodist on April 4, 1991, when Texas was still a part of the Southwest Conference.
Kansas sophomore Cheryl Mallaiah lost the first set of her match with Texas' Michelle Faucher, 6-1, but came back and won the second set 7-6. But her comeback fell short when she dropped the third set, 6-1.
The rest of the meet wasn't as close.
Junior Monica Sekulov and freshman Tiffany Chang both lost in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, at the No.3 and 4 spots, respectively.
Even with the win secured, the Longhorns never let up in Kansas. Texas won the doubles portion of the meet by a combined score of 24-8.
Friday's meet against the Aggies was a little closer. The 'Hawks had a chance to win the meet by winning the doubles portion, but lost, 7-2.
Kansas' two points came from senior Brooke Chiller, who beat Texas A&M's Martina Nedorostova 6-2, 6-2, and from sophomore Lisa Mallaia, who beat the Aggies' Kathryn Scott 6-4, 6-7, 6-2.
The 'Hawks were swept in three doubles matches.
Sophomore Christi Wagenaar said the key to winning the final three meets would be for the team to keep a positive outlook. That might have worked against lowly Colorado, but it was not enough to take care of ranked Texas or Texas & M. she said.
The 'Hawks have now lost five of their last six meets heading into the Big 12 Tournament, which starts Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.
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