Rice University
Colorado
Strong Start and Finish Blanks Buffs
2/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
by Chuck Pool (cpool@rice.edu) -
The Rice women's tennis team combined a strong start with an equally impressive finish to blank Colorado 7-0 at the George R. Brown Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon. The 23rd ranked Owls improved to 7-2 on the year, while the Buffaloes fell to 8-2 and 1-1 on their brief trip to Texas.
The Owls opened the day by extending their unbeaten streak in doubles to nine matches thanks to wins at the first and third positions. They leveraged strong play by Alison Ho, Savannah Durkin and Priya Niezgoda to clinch the match with straight set wins, then used strong comebacks by Lindsey Hodge, Wendy Zhang and Fernanda Astete to post the shutout.
Ho raced to a 6-0, 6-0 to finish first and Durkin (6-0, 6-3) and Niezgoda (6-2, 6-2) followed in rapid succession to clinch the win. Astete won her first set to give Rice four of six first sets, but dropped her second, 6-3. Hodge and Zhang dropped first sets only to force 10-point tiebreakers in vastly different methods.
Zhang bounced back from a 7-5 lost to race to 6-0 win in the second. Hodge dropped her first set 6-2, but clawed back to force a tiebreaker in the second, then forcing the addition set with a 7-1 verdict. All three seized early command in their deciding sets. Astete finished first with a 10-6 win, followed by Zhang (10-5) and Hodge (10-6).
"I thought our team was really mentally tough and resilient today and we saw two examples of that on the courts," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "At four, five and six we really stepped up and took care of business and got the job done quickly and then you saw at one, two and three they really battled back after losing sets. They really dug in their heels and found a way to win those 10-point tiebreakers. Our attitudes and energy were good across the board and if we continue to do that, you will see things like this happen more often," Schmidt added.
The Owls will be back in action on Friday at 11 a.m. when they host Texas State as part of a simultaneous dual with the Rice men's team, who will be hosting Abilene Christian.
Tennis Match Results
Colorado vs Rice
2/26/2017 at Houston,m TX
(George R. Brown Tennis Center)
#23 Rice 7, Colorado 0
Singles competition
1. Lindsey Hodge (RICE) def. Ormeno Ruiz, Nuria (COLO) 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 1-0 (10-6)
2. Wendy Zhang (RICE) def. Ronaldson, Louise (COLO) 5-7, 6-0, 1-0 (10-5)
3. Fernanda Astete (RICE) def. Andrinopoulos, A. (COLO) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)
4. Alison Ho (RICE) def. Hule, Chloe (COLO) 6-0, 6-0
5. Savannah Durkin (RICE) def. Wojcik, Kyra (COLO) 6-0, 6-3
6. Priya Niezgoda (RICE) def. Oleynik, Ilana (COLO) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Lindsey Hodge/Wendy Zhang (RICE) def. Hule, Chloe/Ronaldson, Louise (COLO) 6-3
2. Alison Ho/Priya Niezgoda (RICE) vs. Andrinopoulos, A./Oleynik, Ilana (COLO) 4-5, unfinished
3. Fernanda Astete/Savannah Durkin (RICE) def. Ormeno Ruiz, Nuria/Wojcik, Kyra (COLO) 6-2
Match Notes:
Colorado 8-3
Rice 7-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (4,5,6,3,2,1)
T-2:31 A-68
Players Mentioned
