Monday, March 1, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 5
Powell, freshmen sparkle in men's tennis victory
Kansas freshman Alex Barragain backwards a return during a doubles match againstiowa. Barragan and his partner, senior Kenny Powell, won 8-4 Sunday at Alvamar Country Club. Photo by Christina Neff/KANSAN
By Melinda Weaver
Kansan sportswriter
Powell dominated J.R. Chitley in No.2 singles, coming away with a 6-0, 6-2 victory.
The fans' sign on the wall said "Kenny Powell: Entertainment at Its Best," and the saying rang true Sunday as the Kansas men's tennis team defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 6-1.
"I was very pleased with my performance today," Powell said. I think I stayed focused. I won the first set 6-0, but I was able to maintain the intensity level for the second set."
Sophomore Ed Dus also put together a solid performance, defeating Petar Mandic 6-2, 6-1 in No. 3 singles.
"I was very pleased with Ed's performance today," Powell said. "He played really well in singles. This is something I always knew he was capable of."
The three starting freshmen, Alex Barragan, Quentin Blakeney and Rodrigo Echagaray, continued their winning streak. They have won nine matches in the last three meets.
"The freshmen are getting much better," Kansas head coach Mark Riley said. "They have more experience now, and they are doing an outstanding job."
Kansas continued to dominate in doubles, sweeping the three doubles matches and earning the doubles point.
In collegiate tennis, the team that wins the best of three doubles matches earns one point.
The 12th-ranked duo, Luis Uribe and Dus, rebounded from its last home defeat to Wichita State by beating Ulf Jentler and Jason Dunn in No. 1 doubles.
"We returned well and put a lot of pressure on them," Dus said. "We were more on top of our game and played more energetically."
The only loss came in No. 1 singles as Uribe failed to win his 100th singles victory, losing to Tyler Cleveland 3-6, 7-1 (1). He has one more chance to win in front of a home crowd Saturday against Nebraska.
"We're getting better," Riley said. "The way we played three or four weeks ago, we would not have won today. Dus and Powell played outstanding, and we really dominated in doubles."
Dus said the increased intensity could be attributed to the fan support. Kansas played in front of a full house, which came with signs and cows bells, at Alvamar Country Club.
"The fan support really helped us out today." Dus said. "We owe a lot of that to Arjun Amaran (Overland Park junior.) He makes up for half the fan support. He's like the Candy Lady of tennis."
The Jayhawks have one more match at home against Nebraska before they embark on a five-game road trin.
Edited by Jon Campbell
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