Rice University
UCF
No. 75 Women's Tennis Holds Off UCF
3/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 11, 2008
UCF at No. 75 Rice Box Score (PDF) 
HOUSTON - Rebecca Lin and Dominique Karas gutted out a pair of three-set decisions as the No. 75 Rice women's tennis team emerged with a hard-fought 5-2 victory over UCF under crisp and cloudy conditions Tuesday morning at the Jake Hess Stadium on the Rice campus.
With the Owls (12-4) holding a 3-2 advantage, Lin fought back after dropping the opening set 7-5. The San Diego native regrouped and won the next two sets going away 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 to dispatch Kenz Belbacha and clinch the win for Rice.
"It was a tough match up and down the line that could have gone either way in the top four spots," head coach Roger White said. "I was proud of the way Rebecca bounced back after losing the first set. She does a fantastic job of keeping the big picture and controlling the tempo during a match."
Karas overturned an early 3-1 deficit and went ahead 5-4 in the final frame. After having one match point overruled by the chair umpire, Karas relied on her strong ground strokes to notch a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win over Elvira Serrotfor in the No. 2 position the final margin of 5-2.
Rice's Emily Braid and Varsha Shiva-Shankar took control of their match early at the No. 3 doubles position against Kenza Belbacha and Anna Yakimchenkova. Braid and Shiva-Shankar jumped out to a 7-3 lead and held on for an 8-5 win.
The Knights (6-6) fired back as Jennifer Carati and Elvira Serrot overcame a 6-5 deficit against Tiffany Lee and Rebecca Lin in the No. 2 hole. Carati and Serrot won a tight 8-6 decision to even the doubles tally.
All eyes turned to Center Court where Rice's top pair of Julie Chao and Dominique Karas held a 5-4 edge against Jenny Frisell and Kyla McNicol. Chao and Karas won three consecutive games as the Owls secured the doubles point for the ninth straight match.
Shiva-Shankar cruised to a dominant 6-0, 6-1 victory over Carati to open singles play at the bottom of the lineup to make it 2-0. The India native has won seven of her last nine outings in the No. 6 position.
UCF drew back to 2-1 as Yakimchenkova upended Braid 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 5 spot before Lee swung the momentum back to the Owls at the No. 3 slot. After taking the first set 6-4 against McNicol, Lee held a 5-3 edge during the second set. Down 30-40, Lee smacked a forehand winner to get to deuce.
After a McNicol error gave Lee match point, her volley to get back to deuce clipped the tape and went back on the UCF side.
At the top of the lineup, Frisell defeated Chao 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to pull the Knights within 3-2.
The Owls, winners of six straight, continue their five-match homestand Friday against Abilene Christian. First serve is slated for 3pm. Admission is free to Jake Hess Stadium.
Players Mentioned
