Rice University
Marshall University
Rice Upsets Marshall 4-3, Advance To C-USA Semifinals
4/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 21, 2006
GARLAND, Texas -- Freshman Alanna Rodgers won the deciding match to help Rice upset 55th-ranked, and second-seeded, Marshall 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship on Friday afternoon in Garland.
Led by the 31st-ranked duo in the nation, the Thundering Herd won at one and three doubles to take an early 1-0 lead in the match.
Rice senior Blair DiSesa answered back for her team at number-one singles, sweeping Lynzee Kever 6-2, 6-2 to knot the score at 1-1. Marshall responded with a pair of wins at two and six to take a 3-1 lead. But the Owls didn't surrender.
Senior Medeja Egic struck back at four with a 6-2, 6-4 decision against Shannon Brown. That was shortly followed by sophomore Tiffany Lee tying the team score with her 6-4, 6-1 sweep of Jeanne Schwartz at three singles, sending all eyes to number five singles.
In the first set, Rodgers fought back from a 4-3 deficit against Karolina Soor to take the frame, then found herself down by the same margin in the second. Once again the Owl rallied to win three-straight games to win her match 6-4, 6-4 and clinch the team upset.
With the win, Rice improves to 11-12 on the year. In Saturday's 2 pm semifinal, the Owls face longtime foe and third-seeded Houston, a 4-1 winner over East Carolina on Friday, for a spot in the championship match slated for 10 am on Sunday. The other Saturday semifinal features host SMU and Tulsa facing off at 10 am.
Results
Rice 4, #55 Marshall 3
Doubles
1. #31 Kever/Schmitt (MU) def. DiSesa/Egic (RU), 8-1
2. Kimberley Patenaude/Rodgers (RU) vs. Brown/Soor (MU), 5-4, DNF
3. Schwartz/Keener (MU) def. Lee/Dao (RU), 8-0
Singles
1. #69 Blair DiSesa (RU) def. Lynzee Kever (MU), 6-2, 6-2
2. Kellie Schmitt (MU) def. Christine Dao (RU), 6-0, 6-4
3. Tiffany Lee (RU) def. Jeanne Schwartz (MU), 6-4, 6-1
4. Medeja Egic (RU) def. Shannon Brown (MU), 6-2, 6-4
* 5. Alanna Rodgers (RU) def. Karolina Soor (MU), 6-4, 6-4
6. Jessica Keener (MU) def. Emily Braid (RU), 6-4, 6-0
Order of Finish: D1, D3, S1, S2, S6, S4, S3, *S5
Players Mentioned
