Rice University
Southern Miss
Owls Open C-USA Defense with 4-0 Blanking
4/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By Chuck Pool (cpool@rice.edu)
The Rice women's tennis team opened their pursuit of a fourth consecutive Conference USA title with an efficient 4-0 blanking of Southern Miss at the Adams Tennis Complex in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Friday.
"Getting in the first round is big, getting out the first round jitters," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "I felt like our girls were going to be prepared and they were."
The Owls opened strongly by grabbing the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Katherine Ip and Emily Smith, who moved into the national doubles ranking last week at No. 48, finished first with a 6-2 win, followed by senior Solomiya Zinko and Savannah Durkin with a 6-3 victory.
Alison Ho made sure the doubles momentum was not lost when singles opened, doubling the Rice lead with a 6-1, 6-1 win on court five.
"Alison Ho getting that first singles point on the board quickly was huge," Schmidt said. "Southern Miss was going to make a lot of balls, they were going to make us play one extra ball. They were playing some high balls in and throwing in some slices and they were going to make us earn it and I think as a team we did a nice job of stepping up and doing that."
Ip and Durkin delivered the final points the Owls needed as they left the courts in less than two hours, headed to a semifinal meeting with North Texas at noon on Saturday. This will be the 12th meeting between the two schools and the first since they faced off in the 2014 C-USA semis.
With a chance to return to the finals for the fifth consecutive year in the offing tomorrow, Schmidt said the focus will be purely on the match itself.
"It's just another opportunity get out there, grow and get better. That's always been our main focus, improving every day and tomorrow is another opportunity to do that."
Tennis Match Results
Southern Miss vs Rice
4/22/2016 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
#45 Rice 4, Southern Miss 0
Singles competition
1. Lindsey Hodge (RICE) vs. Carolin Drescher (USMW) 6-4, 5-0, unfinished
2. Katherine Ip (RICE) def. Alex Kitchen (USMW) 6-2, 6-1
3. Emily Smith (RICE) vs. Rikeetha Pereira (USMW) 7-5, unfinished
4. Savannah Durkin (RICE) def. Tjasa Jerse (USMW) 6-0, 6-2
5. Alison Ho (RICE) def. Claudia Castella (USMW) 6-1, 6-1
6. Solomiya Zinko (RICE) vs. Elena Roca (USMW) 2-6, 3-0, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Emily Smith/Katherine Ip (RICE) def. Alex Kitchen/Carolin Drescher (USMW) 6-2
2. Lindsey Hodge/Alison Ho (RICE) vs. Rikeetha Pereira/Claudia Castella (USMW) 3-4, unfinished
3. Solomiya Zinko/Savannah Durkin (RICE) def. Tjasa Jerse/Elena Roca (USMW) 6-3
Match Notes:
Southern Miss 17-4-1
Rice 11-9; National ranking #45
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,2,4)
2016 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship
Quarterfinals
No. 2 Rice vs. No. 7 Southern Miss
Official: Ted Mason T-1:56 A-74
Players Mentioned
