Rice University
Ole Miss
Rebels Top Owls
2/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Savannah Durkin and Katherine Ip registered straight set wins, but 24th ranked Ole Miss used a fast start to control momentum from the start and take a 5-2 decision over No. 32 Rice at the McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday.
The Rebels (6-1) won for their sixth straight while the Owls dropped their fourth straight match, all to teams in the national top 30. Rice will wrap up their trip to Lubbock on Sunday when they take on host Texas Tech at 11 a.m.
After Ole Miss grabbed the doubles point and wins on courts five and six to take a commanding 3-0 lead, Durkin put the Owls on the scoreboard with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Iris Verboven. Ip added the Owls second point, outlasting Mai El Kamash, 7-5, 7-5.
The day's highlight match between a pair of top 25 singles players lived up to its billing.
No. 29 Julia Jones of Ole Miss and 24th ranked Natalie Beazant of Rice traded 6-2 wins in the opening two sets and battled back and forth in the final set before Jones emerged with a 7-5 win in the decisive final set.
After wrapping up play in Lubbock on Sunday, the Owls will return home and host No. 6 Baylor on Friday at 2 p.m. at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
Players Mentioned
