Rice University
University of Houston
Owls Blast Cougars In Singles, Advance to C-USA Finals
4/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 22, 2006
GARLAND, Texas -- With a dominant showing in singles, seventh-seeded Rice eliminated crosstown rival and third-seeded Houston 4-1 in Saturday's semifinal to advance to the finals of the 2006 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship in Garland.
The win marks the first time for the seventh-seeded team to advance to the C-USA championship match. It is also the second-straight year for the Owls to earn a spot in the league finals after competing for the Western Athletic Conference crown a year ago.
Seniors Medeja Egic and Blair DiSesa defeated Brianna Bateup and Loli Gomez 8-2 at number-one doubles, before the Cougars scored wins at two and three to take the doubles point.
Freshman Alanna Rodgers quickly got the Owls on the scoreboard in singles, blasting Vicky Simpson 6-1, 6-1 at the five position. Egic also scored a quick strike for Rice, dropping Kami Miller 6-0, 6-1 at four to put the Owls ahead 2-1. Sophomores Christine Dao and Tiffany Lee then struck in rapid succession with both scoring 6-2, 6-2 wins against the Cougars for the team upset. Dao beat Gomez at two, and Lee clinched against Sonja Nikolic at three.
DiSesa and freshman Emily Braid were both up a set and leading in the second when their matches were suspended.
Rice improves to 12-12 on the year with their second-straight upset and fifth consecutive victory. The Owls will look for revenge against longtime rival SMU in Sunday's 10 am championship bout. The Mustangs, the top seed and ranked 51st, edged Rice 4-3 previously this season in Houston.
Results
Rice 4, Houston 1
Doubles
1. DiSesa/Egic (RU) def. Bateup/Gomez (UH), 8-2
2. Miller/Terblanche (UH) def. Kimberley Patenaude/Rodgers (RU), 8-5
3. Sarah Reimer/Nikolic (UH) def. Lee/Dao (RU), 8-4
Singles
1. #69 Blair DiSesa (RU) vs. Brianna Bateup (UH), 6-4, 3-1, DNF
2. Christine Dao (RU) def. Loli Gomez (UH), 6-2, 6-2
3. Tiffany Lee (RU) def. Sonja Nikolic (UH), 6-2, 6-2
4. Medeja Egic (RU) def. Kami Miller (UH), 6-0, 6-1
5. Alanna Rodgers (RU) def. Vicky Simpson (UH), 6-1, 6-1
6. Emily Braid (RU) vs. Yolandi Terblanche (UH), 6-3, 4-2, DNF
Order of Finish: D1, D3, D2, S5, S4, S2, S3
Players Mentioned
