Rice University
TCU
Rice's Season Ends With 4-0 Loss At TCU
5/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 12, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas -- After winning their first conference crown in April, the Rice women's historical season came to a close in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships with a 4-0 loss to 16th-ranked TCU on Friday night in Fort Worth.
The Horned Frogs took the early lead with wins at two and three doubles to snare the first point of the match. TCU then scored straight-set wins at two, six and four singles to secure the team decision.
For the 65th-ranked Owls, senior Blair DiSesa, ranked 78th in singles, was hanging tough against 17th-ranked Nicole Leimbach at the top spot and trailed 6-5 in the first when her match was suspended. Similarly, freshman Alanna Rodgers was trading blows with Kewa Nichols at five singles as the score stood at 6-6 when suspended. Sophomore Tiffany Lee was making a comeback in the second set of her match when the team decision ended it.
Rice ends the season at 13-13 and made history on April 23 winning the program's first league title by upsetting SMU 4-1 for the Conference USA crown. The win gave the Owls an automatic bid to the NCAA team championships, the program's first appearance since 1998.
Although the team's season is complete, DiSesa's collegiate career is not over yet. She will head to Palo Alto, Calif., to compete in the NCAA singles championships which begins May 23. The draw will be announced on May 22. DiSesa is the first Owl to compete in the individual championships since the doubles tandem of Vessie Ivanova and Sarah Borwell in 1998 and the first Owl in the singles draw since Wendy Wood in 1986.
Results
#16 TCU 4, #65 Rice 0
Doubles
1. DiSesa/Egic (RU) vs. Besovic/Cetnik (TCU), 4-3, DNF
2. Morgado/Sydorska (TCU) def. Kimberley Patenaude /Rodgers (RU), 8-1
3. Leimbach/Nichols (TCU) def. Lee/Dao (RU), 8-0
Singles
1. #78 Blair DiSesa (RU) vs. #17 Nicole Leimbach (TCU), 5-6, DNF
2. Helena Besovic (TCU) def. Christine Dao (RU), 6-1, 6-2
3. Anna Sydorska (TCU) vs. Tiffany Lee (RU), 6-0, 3-4, DNF
4. Ana Cetnik (TCU) def. Medeja Egic (RU), 6-1, 6-0
5. Alanna Rodgers (RU) vs. Kewa Nichols (TCU), 6-6, DNF
6. Gloriann Lopez (TCU) def. Emily Braid (RU), 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: D3, D2, S2, S6, S4
Players Mentioned
