Rice University
Baylor
Bears Blank Owls, 4-0
2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sixth-ranked Baylor started quickly and then fended off a stubborn Rice counter to take a 4-0 decision at the George R. Brown Tennis Center on Friday afternoon.
"I thought out team competed tremendously hard today and I think they really enjoyed playing back home in front of our fans," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "Our fans did a great job of supporting us and lifting us up. You have to give Baylor the credit to Baylor. When it came time step up, they did."
The Bears improved to 9-0 on the season on the strength of capturing the doubles point and straight-set wins on courts 4, 5 and 6. The Owls, who fell to 1-6 with all six losses coming at the hand of teams current ranked in the national top 30, found themselves in a deep deficit after dropping the opening set of all six singles matches, but proved to be far peskier in the second sets.
Schmidt praised the Owls for the progress they have made during their opener slate of ranked opponents.
"I think our team has grown a ton in the last couple of weeks and I think they saw that today as well. They've continued to work hard and a lot of the things we've been working on you saw implemented today. Despite the final score, I think there was a lot of growth today," she added.
The Owls will be back on the GRBTC courts on Sunday to face Louisiana-Lafayette, their first unranked opponent since the season-opening dual with Lamar, but Schmidt was quick to remind her team that they will need a continuation of Friday's progress when they take the court on Sunday.
"There is a ton of parity in college tennis. You have to be ready for every match you play. There are no cupcakes on our schedule. ULL is a solid team. They are young so we don't know a great deal about them. It's going to be important for us to come out and play our game and really go after it," she concluded.
Tennis Match Results
Baylor vs Rice
2/13/2015 at Houston, TX
(George R. Brown Tennis Center)
#6 Baylor 4, #35 Rice 0
Singles competition
1. #32 Natalie Beazant (RICE) vs. #19 Ema Burgic (BAYLOR) 6-7 (5-7), 4-3, unfinished
2. Katherine Ip (RICE) vs. #79 Blair Shankle (BAYLOR) 3-6, 6-4, 3-1, unfinished
3. Lindsey Hodge (RICE) vs. Kiah Generette (BAYLOR) 1-6, 6-6, unfinished
4. Leolia JeanJean (BAYLOR) def. Savannah Durkin (RICE) 7-5, 7-5
5. #86 Rachael James-Baker (BAYLOR) def. Alison Ho (RICE) 6-3, 6-4
6. Kelley Anderson (BAYLOR) def. Solomiya Zinko (RICE) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #27 Ema Burgic/Blair Shankle (BAYLOR) def. Natalie Beazant/Katherine Ip (RICE) 6-3
2. Alison Ho/Lindsey Hodge (RICE) vs. Kiah Generette/Rachael James-Baker (BAYLOR) 5-4, unfinished
3. Leolia JeanJean/Theresa Van Zyl (BAYLOR) def. Savannah Durkin/Solomiya Zinko (RICE) 6-0
Match Notes:
Baylor 9-0; National ranking #6
Rice 1-6; National ranking #35
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (5,4,6)
T-2:30
Players Mentioned
