Rice University
Marshall
Owls Give Brown First Year a Championship Ending
4/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
After celebrating their previous three Conference USA championships on foreign courts, the Rice women's tennis team made certain that the inaugural season at the George R. Brown Tennis Center would end with a championship flair as the Owls downed Marshall 4-1 on Sunday to capture the 20th C-USA women's tennis title.
The title was the fourth C-USA crown for the program in the 10 seasons Rice has been a member of the conference and the third consecutive. Rice captured previous championships at SMU, Houston and Old Dominion and their most recent crown allowed them to match Tulsa and Tulane as the only schools to win three consecutive C-USA women's tennis titles.
"Really proud of our team today. They fought so hard," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "There was a point there when it got pretty tense when we were down on several courts and we were struggling a little bit. Marshall was really taking it to us but our team stayed composed and showed a great deal of mental toughness.
"We're just really proud to be able to represent Rice and get these championships for our school," Schmidt stated. "Rice is a special place, the Rice family is a special family and it was really awesome to be able to win this championship at home in front of all our fans who have stayed with us through thick and thin. We have a ton of support here ti do this will all those people here today," she added.
Under brilliant blue skies that were a welcome site after three days of stormy weather, Rice stormed out to an early lead by grabbing the doubles point. But the pursuit if the final three points needed for the clinch proved far less obvious.
Freshman Savannah Durkin completed an unbeaten weekend and ran her current winning streak to 10 matches by taking a straight set win over Marija Bogicevic, 6-3, 6-2, on court five.
Marshall cut the Owls margin to 2-1 with a win on court three and at one point, held the lead on three of the remaining four courts in the first sets.
On court one, senior Natalie Beazant seemed to be on her way to a win in the first set, but saw a 5-3 lead quickly turn into a 6-5 deficit thanks to some inspired play by The Herd's Derya Turhan. The senior playing her final match in front of her home fans was able to rebound and win the tiebreaker, 7-4 and then cruised to the Owls third point with a 6-1 win in the second set.
"In the first set she found a place where she had some really good points and I started to feel a little bit tight," Beazant admitted. "It definitely took a little bit of momentum to get back into it again. I felt like I started to get a little more comfortable. She played a really good match." While Beazant was righting the ship on one, Katherine Ip and Lindsey Hodge were driving towards clinching their matches, but at the far end of the GRBTC, junior Solomiya Zinko reach the finish line first, closing out Rachael Morales by winning the last eight games to win, 7-5, 6-0.
The win clinched the Owls fourth consecutive berth in the NCAA Championship. They will be in a holding pattern until April 28 when the bracket is announced. The Owls will be looking to advance past the regional round for the first time since 2012 when they advance to their first Sweet 16.
Beazant has already set her goals for NCAA action.
"I'd love to miss graduation (May 15-16) because it's when we would be playing in the Elite Eight," she said. "So I'd personally to not be at graduation because that means the team is doing really well. That's my goal for the NCAAs."
Tennis Match Results
Marshall vs Rice
4/19/2015 at Houston, Texas
(George R. Brown Tennis Center)
#30 Rice 4, #60 Marshall 1
Singles competition
1. Natalie Beazant (RICE) def. Derya Turhan (MAR) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
2. Katherine Ip (RICE) vs. Anna Pomyatinskaya (MAR) 2-6, 6-3, 5-1, unfinished
3. Maddie Silver (MAR) def. Liat Zimmermann (RICE) 6-1, 6-2
4. Lindsey Hodge (RICE) vs. Kai Broomfield (MAR) 7-5, 3-1, unfinished
5. Savannah Durkin (RICE) def. Marija Bogicevic (MAR) 6-3, 6-2
6. Solomiya Zinko (RICE) def. Rachael Morales (MAR) 7-5, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Natalie Beazant/Liat Zimmermann (RICE) def. Derya Turhan/Anna Pomyatinskaya (MAR) 8-3
2. Alison Ho/Lindsey Hodge (RICE) def. Kai Broomfield/Marija Bogicevic (MAR) 8-2
3. Savannah Durkin/Solomiya Zinko (RICE) vs. Rachael Morales/Maddie Silver (MAR) 6-2, unfinished
Match Notes:
Marshall 16-8; National ranking #60
Rice 16-8; National ranking #30
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,3,1,6)
C-USA Women's Tennis Championship Match
T-2:40 A-355
Players Mentioned
