Rice University
Southern Miss
Owls Advance with 4-0 Blanking of Southern Miss
4/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 16, 2009
Rebekka Hänle, Rebecca Lin and Alex Rasch cruised to straight-set singles victories to lead the Rice Owls to a 4-0 victory over Southern Miss in the first round of the 14th Conference USA Women's Tennis Championships at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.
"It is always nice to get that first round victory. I was pleased with how the team played and felt that we got better and better as the match went along," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "I think the team is in a good spot right now and we are looking forward to the opportunity to play Houston. Rice vs Houston is always a hard-fought battle and we are expecting nothing less tomorrow."
Hänle won her eighth straight match, 6-1, 6-0, to run her season record to 9-1. She combined with Rasch to clinch the doubles point. Rasch closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles, while Lin captured her match at No. 5, 6-3, 6-1.
With the win, the Owls, who carried the fifth seed into the tournament, will meet No. 4 seed Houston in a match that has been moved up to 9 a.m. on Friday at Hess Stadium because of threatening weather conditions later in the day. In the event of rain on Friday, all matches will be moved to the Galleria Athletic & Tennis Club.
1. Julie Chao (RICE) vs. Elja Van Berlo (USM) 7-6, unfinished
2. Rebekka Hänle (RICE) def. Alexandra Kaluza (USM) 6-1, 6-0 3. Ana Guzman (RICE) vs. Lauren Gutterman (USM) 6-1, 3-2, unfinished
4. Jessica Jackson (RICE) vs. Hollie Robinson (USM) 6-1, 4-1, unfinished
5. Rebecca Lin (RICE) def. Zoe Lee (USM) 6-3, 6-1
6. Alex Rasch (RICE) def. Shannon Rogers (USM) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition 1. Julie Chao/Ana Guzman (RICE) vs. Elja Van Berlo/Lauren Gutterman (USM) 6-3, unfinished 2. Rebecca Lin/Jessica Jackson (RICE) def. Hollie Robinson/Shannon Rogers (USM) 8-2 3. Alex Rasch/Rebekka Hänle (RICE) def. Alexandra Kaluza/Zoe Lee (USM) 8-6
Players Mentioned
