LAWRENCE, Kan. – Freshman Mariam Kurdadze posted a come-from-behind victory in No. 1 singles action, but it was not enough as the Tulane University women’s tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to the Kansas Jayhawks Friday afternoon at the First Serve Tennis Center.
Kansas made quick work of the Green Wave as the Jayhawks swept the doubles point and won the first four singles matches to be completed to clinch the victory. The loss snaps a two-match winning streak for Tulane, which falls to 10-11 on the year. Kansas, meanwhile, posted its second consecutive victory to improve to 10-10 in 2009.
Kurdadze fell behind early in her head-to-head battle with Edina Horvath as the Kansas senior rolled out to a 6-3 victory in the opening set. The Tulane rookie, however, answered with a 6-3 win in the second stanza and with the team score already decided, outlasted Horvath in a tie-breaker, 10-4. With the individual victory, Kurdadze is now 17-5 on the year, including a 9-4 showing at the top of the Green Wave lineup.
The Jayhawks set the tone for the match early in doubles play, holding the Green Wave to a combined five points on all three courts. Horvath teamed with Ekaterina Morozova to defeat Kurdadze and Lindsay Dvorak on Court 1, 8-1, the KU combination of Erin Wilbert and Maria Martinez followed suit on Court 2 with an 8-1 decision over Tulane’s Jessica Lange and Caroline Gerber, while Yuliana Svistun and Kunigunda Dorn completed the sweep with an 8-3 win over Elizabeth Hamlin and Marcela Fonseca on Court 3.
Morozova made it a 2-0 Kansas lead when she wrapped up a 6-3, 6-1 win over Dvorak on Court 2. Martinez made it a 3-0 affair courtesy of a 6-4, 6-2 decision against Hamlin on Court 5, while Svisturi posted the match’s deciding point with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Gerber.
Dorn followed with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Fonseca in No. 4 singles action, and Kurdadze put Tulane on the board with her three-set decision on Court 1. Wilbert accounted for the final score by outlasting Lange on Court 6, 6-2, 7-5.
The Green Wave close out the weekend’s action on Saturday when they travel to “The Show Me State” to take on the UMKC Kangaroos at 10 a.m. at the Plaza Tennis Center. From there, Tulane returns home to the Goldring Tennis Center for a C-USA match against Memphis on Tuesday, April 14, in what will be the team’s final home match. First serve for that match is slated for 9 a.m. and admission is free.
KANSAS (10-10, 4-5 BIG 12) 6, TULANE (10-11, 2-4 C-USA) 1
SINGLES
No. 1 – Mariam Kurdadze (TLN) def. Edina Horvath (KU) – 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-4)
No. 2 – Ekaterina Morozova (KU) def. Lindsay Dvorak (TLN) – 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 – Yuliana Svistun (KU) def. Caroline Gerber (TLN) – 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 – Kunigunda Dorn (KU) def. Marcela Fonseca (TLN) – 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 – Maria Martinez (KU) def. Elizabeth Hamlin (TLN) – 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 – Erin Wilbert (KU) def. Jessica Lange (TLN) – 6-2, 7-5
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Horvath/Morozova (KU) def. Kurdadze/Dvorak (TLN) – 8-1
No. 2 – Wilbert/Martinez (KU) def. Lange/Gerber (TLN) – 8-1
No. 3 – Svistun/Dorn (KU) def. Hamlin/Fonseca (TLN) – 8-3
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