Rice University Athletics
Rice University
27th Annual Rice Classic
27th Annual Rice Classic Day 2 Recap
9/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 22, 2007
27th Annual Rice Classic - Day 2 Results (PDF)
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HOUSTON - The Rice women's tennis team continued its solid play at the 27th Annual Rice Classic Saturday at Jake Hess Stadium.
Julie Chao knocked off her second consecutive ranked opponent, claiming a gritty 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 116 Stephanie Davison of Texas. Chao advances to face No. 19 Vanja Corovic of Texas, who was a three-set winner over teammate and No. 81 Courtney Zauft.
"Our assistant coach Kristina (Kraszeweski) summed it up nicely in the locker room," head coach Roger White said. "Last year at this time Julie thought she could win these types of matches. The difference is now she expects to win. When points get tough, she really steps up her game and takes control of the match."
Christine Dao also earned a default victory and faces Karolina Filipiak of Baylor in the consolation final of the Jersey Mike's bracket. Dominique Karas, Rebecca Lin and Tiffany Lee dropped straight set decisions in consolation action.
Varsha Shiva-Shanker stormed back from a 1-6, 0-3 hole and won 11 of her next 12 games before holding on for a hard-fought 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Katharina Tomalak of Louisville in Swirl consolation play.
"Our match toughness took some steps in the right direction," White said. "I was impressed with how Varsha fought back after falling behind a set and a break. She showed a lot of composure and stayed poise by relying on the tools that she possesses in her game."
Rice started the day winning two of its three opening doubles matches of the day. The pairs of Julie Chao and Tiffany Lee along with Dominique Karas and Christine Dao notched convincing wins to advance to the semifinals of their respective flights before bowing out in close decisions. Both pairs play for third place Sunday at 9am.
After dropping a hard-fought 8-6 decision, Rebecca Lin and Varsha Shiva-Shankar rebounded to claim an 8-6 trimph over Jo-Ann Van Aerde and Katharina Tomalak of Louisville to set up a fifth-place showdown Sunday at 9am with Lynley Wasson and Vicky Simpson of Houston.
The 27th Annual Rice Classic wraps up Sunday at 9am with doubles play. Singles action is set to get underway at 10am. Admission is free to Jake Hess Stadium.
Players Mentioned
