Rice University
Baylor
Owls Upset Bid Falls Just Short
1/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 30, 2011
Baylor's Sona Novakova, ranked 19th in the nation, needed three sets to outlast Rice freshman Dominique Harmath and allow the third-ranked Baylor Bears to fight off the upset-minded Rice Owls and advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships with a 4-3 win at the Baylor Tennis Center on Sunday.
Harmath, who lost her opening set to Novakova 6-0, battled back to win the second 7-6. With the match and the chance to advance on the line, the freshman from Toronto fell behind 5-2, then won twice to cut it to 5-4 before Novakova closed out the match.
"I'm really proud of our entire team and the effort they put forth today," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "That was a hard-fought college tennis match. Give Baylor credit for rallying and getting the win, and I think our team learned something from this experience," she added.
The doubles point set the stage for the tight battle that was to follow. After Baylor's No. 2 team won its match, Jessica Jackson and Danny Trigo evened things with a win at No. 3. Ana Guzman and Rebekka Hänle then outlasted Bayor's Nina Secerbegovic and Jelena Stanivuk 9-7 in a tie breaker to give the Owls the doubles point for the third time in four outings this spring.
Rebekka Hänle won her singles match at No. 1 to give the Owls a 2-1 lead, but then Baylor struck back for wins at No. 3 and 4, leaving the Owls with just their pair of talented freshmen left on the court.
"This was the first time either one of them has been in this position, and it was great to see Kim step up and battle back. Dominique kept battling and took it to the third set. They both learned a great deal today and now it's important to take those lessons and build from here," Schmidt said.
While Harmath fell behind early at No. 2, fellow freshman Kim Anicete won her first set at No. 6, and then had to fight off a rally by Baylor's Abby Stainback to force a tie break in the second set. Anicete closed Stainback out to even the score with Harmath's match left to go.
The Owls will return to action on Saturday when they make the short trip to take on Houston on the Cougars' home courts at noon.
"It's been a long weekend and we'll get back to Houston late tonight, but we'll be back at work tomorrow to get ready for Houston this weekend," Schmidt stated.
Baylor vs. Rice
Jan 30, 2011 at Waco, Texas
(Baylor Tennis Center)
# 3 Baylor 4, #48 Rice 3
Singles competition
1. Rebekka Hänle (RICE) def. Diana Nakic (BU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Sona Novakova (BU) def. Dominique Harmath (RICE) 6-0, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4
3. Nina Secerbegovic (BU) def. Jessica Jackson (RICE) 6-2, 7-5
4. Karolina Filipiak (BU) def. Ana Guzman (RICE) 7-5, 6-0
5. Jelena Stanivuk (BU) def. Daniella Trigo (RICE) 6-1, 6-3
6. Kim Anicete (RICE) def. Abby Stainback (BU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
Doubles competition
1. Ana Guzman/Rebekka Hänle (RICE) def. Nina Secerbegovic/Jelena Stanivuk (BU) 9-8 (9-7)
2. Sona Novakova/Diana Nakic (BU) def. Dominique Harmath/Alex Rasch (RICE) 8-2
3. Jessica Jackson/Daniella Trigo (RICE) def. Karolina Filipiak/Abby Stainback (BU) 8-4
Match Notes:
Rice 2-2; National ranking #48
Baylor 2-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,1,4,3,6,2)
Players Mentioned
