Rice University Athletics
Owls Fall to Sacramento State
2/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 21, 2009
The Rice women's tennis team ran into a red-hot Sacramento State squad and fell to the 40th ranked Hornets, 5-2 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Washington on Saturday afternoon.
The Hornets, who upset 34th ranked Washington on Friday, upped their record to 7-0 while the Owls fell to 8-3 on the season.
"We ran into a very talented and experienced Sac St. team today," Rice women's coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "Against a team like that you cannot afford loose points and we had a few too many of those today."
The Owls points came from Julie Chao, who took the No. 1 singles match,m 6-4, 6-3 and by freshman Alex Rasch in No. 6 singles.
"It was great to see Julie's fight today," Schmidt said. "I though she started out slow, she stuck to her game and really took it to her opponent. We have another opportunity to tomorrow and are looking forward to a battle with Washington," she added.
The Owls and Huskies will close out the weekend of competition with a dual match at the Nordstrom Center, starting at 1 p.m. (central).
Match Results:
Singles
1. Julie Chao, Rice def. Aileen Tsan Sacramento State 6-4, 6-3
2. Maria Meliuk, Sacramento State def. Ana Guzman, Rice 6-0, 6-1
3. Luba Schifris. Sacramento State def. Jessica Jackson, Rice 7-6(4), 6-3
4. Clarisse Baca. Sacramento State def. Rebecca Lin, Rice 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
5. Melissa Valenzuela. Sacramento State def. Varsha Shiva-Shankar, Rice 6-4, 6-3
6. Alex Rasch, Rice University def. Joyce Martinez, Sacramento State 6-4, 2-0 ret.
Doubles
1. Julie Chao & Ana Guzman Rice def. Doubles Luba Schifris & Melissa Valenzuela, Sacramento State 8-5
2. Aileen Tsan & Maria Meliuk, Sacramento State def. Jessica Jackson & Varsha Shiva-Shankar, Rice 8-4
3. Joyce Martinez & Clarisse Baca, Sacramento State def. Rebecca Lin & Alex Rasch, Rice 8-5
Players Mentioned
