Rice University
BYU
Owls Open Weekend With Win Over BYU
3/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 2, 2012
If Elizabeth Schmidt had any concerns that her 45th ranked Rice women's tennis team would let their rapid jump in the national polls and a showdown with No. 26 USF on Sunday impact their performance on the court, they quickly calmed those fears, taking a 7-0 win over BYU at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium on Friday.
The Owls, who moved up 23 spots in the rankings after a series of strong performances capped by a win over then-35th ranked Oklahoma last Sunday, did not allow the Cougars a chance to get a foothold in the match at the start, capturing all three doubles matches to take the first point.
"We played a very controlled and disciplined match today," Schmidt said. "It was really windy today and we wanted to make the court small and go for big targets and the team did a great job of that. BYU stepped up in singles and challenged us, but we rose up to the occasion," Schmidt added.
Freshman Natalie Beazant scored the Owls' first win of the day in singles, improving her spring singles record to 10-1 with a straight set win. Katie Gater and Stephanie Nguyen followed with wins at No. 3 and No. 6 to clinch the match. Dominique Harmath, Kimberly Anicete and Ana Guzman followed suit to close out the match.
The Owls will face another fast-rising team in the rankings on Sunday morning when they host the 26rh ranked South Florida Bulls, who jumped 19 spots in the last poll.
"There were some big jumps last week because this was the first week of the computer rankings," Schmidt noted. "USF is a gritty team that makes you work for every point. We had a tough battle with them two years ago that was a 4-3, five-hour match. But I think our team is in a good spot right now. We're getting better every day and I think we'll be up for the challenge," she added.
First serve is set for 11 a.m. on Sunday at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium
Tennis Match Results
BYU vs Rice
3/2/2012 at Houston, Texas
(Jake Hess Tennis Stadium)
#45 Rice 7, BYU 0
Singles competition
1. #59 Natalie Beazant (RICE) def. Desiree Tran (BYU) 6-2, 6-0
2. Dominique Harmath (RICE) def. Megan Price (BYU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Katie Gater (RICE) def. Morgan Anderson (BYU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Ana Guzman (RICE) def. Meghan Sheehan-Dizon (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Kimberly Anicete (RICE) def. Aubrey Paul (BYU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Stephanie Nguyen (RICE) def. Lisa Waldron (BYU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #36 Natalie Beazant/Dominique Harmath (RICE) def. Megan Price/Meghan Sheehan-Dizon (BYU) 8-5
2. Ana Guzman/Katie Gater (RICE) def. Morgan Anderson/Aubrey Paul (BYU) 8-5
3. Kimberly Anicete/Stephanie Nguyen (RICE) def. Desiree Tran/Lisa Waldron (BYU) 8-5
Match Notes:
BYU 2-7
Rice 8-3; National ranking #45
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,3,6,2,5,4)
Players Mentioned
