Rice University Athletics
Women's Tennis Set for 27th Annual Rice Classic
9/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 20, 2007
27th Annual Rice Classic Bracket (PDF)
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HOUSTON - The Rice women's tennis team welcomes 10 schools, including eight Lone Star State rivals to Jake Hess Stadium this weekend as the Owls play host to the 27th Annual Rice Classic.
In addition to Texas, Baylor, Houston, SMU, Lamar, Texas-San Antonio, Prairie View A&M and Texas-Arlington, the tournament also features players from Louisville and Arkansas State.
In previous seasons, the Rice Classic has served as a strong forcaster for players making the NCAA Tournament field. The 1999 event placed 11 players in the 64-player draw of the 2000 NCAA Tournament.
"It's an exciting event to start the season," head coach Roger White said. "It will give our program a good indicator of what we need to do on the conference, regional and national levels."
White is looking forward to see the offseason development of sophomores Julie Chao and Rebecca Lin after strong freshman campaigns. Chao was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year after putting together a 10-8 record at No. 1 singles, while Lin notched an 8-7 mark at the No. 5 position during the 2007 spring season.
"This weekend will be an excellent chance for our sophomores," White said. "Julie was very close to being No. 1 player in the conference and making the NCAA Tournament last season. We're also looking forward to our two seniors (Christine Dao and Tiffany Lee) to step up and our two freshmen (Rebekka Hanle and Varsha Shiva Shankar) to get some valuable match experience."
Doubles action gets underway Friday at 8am, Saturday at 9am and Sunday at 9am. Singles play begins all three days once doubles is complete. Admission is free all weekend to Jake Hess Stadium. Fans will have a chance to hit for prizes on the courts Saturday from 11:15am-Noon.
Players Mentioned
