Rice University Athletics
Rice University
ITA Southwest Regional Championships
Women's Tennis Recap - Wilson/ITA Southwest Regional Day 2
10/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 24, 2008
FORT WORTH - Julie Chao, Rebecca Lin and Ana Guzman each notched straight set triumphs for the Rice women's tennis team Friday at the Wilson/ITA Southwest Regional Championships from the Bayard H. Freidman Tennis Center on the TCU campus.
The trio advances to the second round of the main draw Saturday at 9am.
Chao and Lin emerged with hard-fought victories over opponents from C-USA rival SMU. Chao edged Nicole Briceno 7-6, 6-4, while Lin knocked off Sophie Quist 6-4, 6-4.
Guzman went the distance for a gritty 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 win over Texas' Abby Liu.
"Julie really had to grind out that win," head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "She was discipline and took her chances when she needed to. Rebecca played smart and did a fantastic job of stepping up her play during the big points. I was happy for Ana to fight back from a 4-1 deficit in the third set."
The Owls went 1-2 in doubles action. Chao and Guzman battled before falling 8-6 to No. 9 seed Maria Babanova and Nina Munch-Soegaard of TCU. Emily Braid and Varsha Shiva-Shankar dropped an 8-2 decision to LSU's Nicole Kantor and Whitney Wolf.
Alex Rasch teamed with Lin for an 8-4 consolation win over Texas Tech's Natalie Leitch and Stefanie Peana.
In the final round of qualifying singles, No. 16 seed Shiva-Shankar and No. 14 seed Rasch fell in straight sets to No. 3 seed Simone Tempelton of Texas Tech and UTEP's Martina Trierweiler, respectively.
Chao, Lin and Guzman are slated to face off against seeded players Saturday at 9am in the second round of the main draw. Consolation doubles along with the singles Round of 16 follow.
"Tomorrow is an excellent opportunity for Julie, Rebecca and Ana," Schmidt said. "They can go out and play their game with nothing to lose."
Main Draw Singles
Chao (RU) def. Briceno (SMU) 7-6, 6-4
Lin (RU) def. Quist (SMU) 6-4, 6-4
Guzman (RU) def. Liu (UT) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
Main Draw Doubles
Kantor/Wolf (LSU) def. Braid/Shiva-Shankar (RU) 8-2
Babanova/Munch-Soegaard (TCU) def. Chao/Guzman (RU) 8-6
Consolation Doubles
Lin/Rasch (RU) def. Leitch/Peana (TTU) 8-4
Qualifying Singles
No. 3 Tempelton (TTU) def. No. 16 Shiva-Shankar (RU) 6-0, 6-4
Trierweiler (UTEP) def. No. 14 Rasch (RU) 6-1, 6-0
Players Mentioned
