By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For one day anyway, Kossover Tennis Center was the home of the Huskers.
University of Nebraska players Nikolay Sysoev and Colson Wells finished one-two in the men's open singles division while the Huskers' Maria Taranova captured the women's open singles championship.
Nebraska tennis standout Nikolay Sysoev won the men's single championship in the Jayhawk Open Sunday at Kossover Tennis Center, topping Husker teammate Colson Wells, 6-4, 6-2. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Maria Taranova, a sophomore to be at Nebraska, captured the Jayhawk Open women's singles title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Wichita State's Theodora Chantava. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Sysoev, who recently finished his sophomore season for Nebraska, took a 6-4, 6-2 win over teammate Wells, a redshirt freshman, in the men's open final while Taranova, who just finished her freshman season for the Huskers, took a 6-4, 6-3 win over Wichita State's Theodora Chantava in the women's final.
Sysoev added a second title later on Sunday, teaming with Nebraska teammate Henry Bilicic to take a 6-4, 6-2 win over Graham Faris and Matthew Earle in the men's open doubles final.
"Huskers! Go Big Red,'' Sysoev said.
"It's definitely a special one,'' Sysoev, a native of Moscow, Russia who now calls Sarasota, Fla. home, said about the all-NU men's final. "We play each other at practice all the time so we know each other's game pretty well. Today I just got lucky and played a little better.''
Wells, a native of Okemos, Mich., jumped out in front 2-0 in the opening set but Sysoev won the next four games and survived a late rally from Wells.
Sysoev then jumped out in front 4-0 in the second set and was never in serious trouble.
Nebraska teammates Nikolay Sysoev (right) and Colson Wells congratulate each other after Sunday's Jayhawk Open singles final. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Taranova and Chantava hooked up in a very competitive women's final, with Taranova, a native of Volgograd, Russia, holding serve to cloce out the 6-4 first-set win and also holding off Chantava (Grevena, Greece) throughout the deciding second set.
"In the first set, it was not my game in the beginning, but I kind of found the key of how I could find my game and win,'' Taranova said.
Sysoev, Taranova, Wells and fellow NU teammate Henry Bilicic all made the trip from Lincoln, with all four competing in their first Jayhawk Open.
"We all rode up together,'' Sysoev said. "We stayed (in Lincoln) in the summer to practice a little more after the season was over and coach (Peter Kobelt) was like, 'Sign up for that one.' We were like, 'Yes coach,' so we're here. It's probably a good thing, thanks to our coach.
"It was a great tournament. The people here are great and they probably make my day, honestly. The organizers, the refs, everybody was great people.''
Maria Taranova accepts her first-place prize from Mark Nordstrom of the Topeka Tennis Association after her women's singles win in the Jayhawk Open. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Taranova agreed.
"My coach (German Dalmagro) asked me if I wanted to play a tournament in Topeka so we came here and definitely enjoyed our time,'' Taranova said. "This atmosphere differs from college, even some different rules and I enjoyed that I could play ad games because in college it's only no-ad so I enjoyed that I could play normally and I enjoyed watching all the guys and all the girls play and my guys from my team supported me and I enjoyed it so much.''
