Rice University
Houston
Owls Upset Cougars In C-USA Tournament Opening Round
4/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 19, 2007
TULSA, Okla. -- The 10th-seeded Rice women began the defense of their 2006 league title by upsetting seventh-seeded Houston 4-1 in Thursday's opening round of the 2007 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship in Tulsa, Okla.
This is the second year in a row for the Owls to eliminate the Cougars at the tournament. A year ago, the then-seven seeded Owls upset then three seeded Houston 4-1 in the semifinals.
"The girls played hard, and they've been working hard all season," said head coach Roger White. "We've played 14 nationally-ranked teams, and they're ready to get after it. We are an underdog in terms of the seeding, but they are ready to show what they are made of and they really did a good job today."
Rice jumped out to a quick start in doubles as Emily Braid and Christine Dao blasted Houston's Vicky Sampson and Neila Starratt at No. 3, 8-1. With the other two matches tied up, the Owls' Julie Chao and Tiffany Lee edged Leila Salek and Loli Gomez 9-8 (4) to clinch the point for Rice.
The Cougars looked to rebound in singles, taking the first set in three spots and a big lead in the fourth, but the Owls would not be denied. Lee pushed the Rice lead to 2-0 beating Sonja Nikolic 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3. Then at No. 4, Dominique Karas rallied to turn an early 4-0 deficit into a commanding 6-4, 6-0 victory against Anna Djananova to extend the lead to 3-0.
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With the win the Owls move into the quarterfinals where they face another longtime rival in No. 2 seed SMU at 2 pm on Friday. The Mustangs won the teams' meeting previously this season. At last year's tournament, Rice upset SMU in the championship match.
Results
Rice 4, Houston 1
Doubles
1. Julie Chao/Tiffany Lee (RICE) def. Leila Salek/Loli Gomez (HOU) 9-8 (7-4)
2. Sonja Nikolic/Anna Djananova (HOU) vs. Dominique Karas/Rebecca Lin (RICE) 7-7, unfinished
3. Emily Braid/Christine Dao (RICE) def. Vicky Simpson/Neila Starratt (HOU) 8-1
Singles 1. Leila Salek (HOU) def. Julie Chao (RICE) 6-3, 6-0
2. Loli Gomez (HOU) vs. Christine Dao (RICE) 2-6, 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
3. Tiffany Lee (RICE) def. Sonja Nikolic (HOU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Dominique Karas (RICE) def. Anna Djananova (HOU) 6-4, 6-0
5. Vicky Simpson (HOU) vs. Rebecca Lin (RICE) 6-0, 1-6, 4-2, unfinished
6. Emily Braid (RICE) def. Neila Starratt (HOU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,4,1,6)
Players Mentioned
