Rice University
Oklahoma State
Resilient Owls Advance Against OSU
1/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 29, 2011
Rice senior Jessica Jackson rebounded from a first set loss to win matching 6-3 sets to give the 48th ranked Rice Owls a 4-3 win over Oklahoma State in the opening round of the ITA National Indoors Championship and set up a meeting with host Baylor on Sunday at 2 pm at the Baylor Tennis Center.
"Tonight was an extremely hard-fought match by both teams," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "I am so proud of the way every single person on our team competed. We played to win and really kept the pressure on OSU. It came down to our seniors and both Rebekka (Hänle) and Jess gave us the kind of performance a team needs from their leaders," she added.
The match, originally scheduled for a 2 p.m. start, was delayed for nearly two hours due to the length of the opening match, which saw the 5th-ranked Bears storm back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Alabama 4-3.
The Owls continued their early-season strong showing in doubles, making quick work of Oklahoma State to take the first point of the day. Hänle and Ana Guzman posted an 8-2 win at No. 1, while Dominque Harmath and Alex Rasch quickly followed with an 8-3 verdict at No. 2.
"We set the tone early with the way we came out firing on all cylinders at 1 and 2 doubles," Schmidt noted.
Freshman Kimberly Anicete pushed the margin to 2-0 with a straight set win at No. 6, and Hänle's win at No. 1 pushed the advantage to 3-1 before the 64th ranked Cowboys knotted the score with wins at No. 4 and No. 2.
It then fell to Jackson, the senior from Solihull, England, who had rebounded from a loss in an opening set tie-break to win the second set 6-3. Leading 3-2 in the deciding third set, Jackson then closed out OSU's Nataliya Shatkovskay by winning the last three games and move the Owls on to Sunday's matchup with Baylor.
Oklahoma State vs. Rice
Jan 29, 2011 at Waco, Texas
(Baylor Tennis Center)
#48 Rice 4, #64 Oklahoma State 3
Singles competition
1. #114 Rebekka Hänle (RICE) def. Sarah Meghoufel (OSU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
2. C.C. Sardinha (OSU) def. #101 Dominique Harmath (RICE) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Jessica Jackson (RICE) def. Nataliya Shatkovskay (OSU) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-3
4. Kanyapat Narattana (OSU) def. Ana Guzman (RICE) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
5. Malika Rose (OSU) def. Daniella Trigo (RICE) 6-0, 6-4
6. Kim Anicete (RICE) def. Allison Burckhartt (OSU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Ana Guzman/Rebekka Hänle (RICE) def. Kanyapat Narattana/Nataliya Shatkovskay (OSU) 8-2
2. Dominique Harmath/Alex Rasch (RICE) def. Sarah Meghoufel/Leyla Simmons (OSU) 8-3
3. Jessica Jackson/Daniella Trigo (RICE) vs. C.C. Sardinha/Malika Rose (OSU) 2-7, unfinished
Match Notes:
Oklahoma State 1-1; National ranking #64
Rice 2-1; National ranking #48
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,5,1,4,2,3)
Players Mentioned
