Rice University Athletics
Owls Open ITA Kickoff Action on Saturday
1/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The 21st ranked Rice women's tennis team hopes to take the first step towards a berth in the ITA National Indoor Championships when they face off against No. 44 Kentucky in the first round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday afternoon in Evanston, Illinois.
The Owls and Wildcats will face off immediately after host Northwestern, who enters the weekend ranked 17th faces 32nd ranked Arizona State in the opener at 11 a.m. at NU's Combe Tennis Center which is one of 15 regional sites during the opening weekend of action. The winner of each group advances to the ITA National Indoor Championships in February. The championships are hosted by the University of Virginia at Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Virginia. The ITA Kickoff Weekend was first held in 2009.
This marks the Owls fourth appearance in the ITA Kickoff Weekend since 2011 and they have a 2-4 mark in their first three appearances. Last year, they opened with a taught 4-3 decision over No. 24 Florida State that was decided when Natalie Beazant and Dominique Harmath roared back from first-set losses to win in three sets. Rice then dropped a 4-1 decision to 17th ranked Texas.
The Owls opened with a 7-0 win over Lamar last weekend in their first match at their new George R. Brown Tennis Center home. Beazant opened her senior year by running her career singles mark to 96-29 with a straight set win. She heads into weekend action ranked 24th in the country.
The Kentucky comes into the weekend tournament with a 2-1 record, having dropped their opener to Hawaii and then defeating College of Charleston and Belmont. The Wildcats have one ranked singles player with Aldila Sutjiadi just sneaking in at No. 125. Sutjiadi is part of a 19th-ranked doubles tandem with Nadia Ravita.
This will mark the second time Rice and Kentucky have met in women's tennis. The Wildcats took a 5-2 decision in 2006. .
Players Mentioned
