Rice University
North Texas
Owls Earn Sixth Consecutive C-USA Final Berth
4/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
by Chuck Pool (cpool@rice.edu) -
Denton, TX-Lindsey Hodge downed her second straight nationally-ranked opponent as the Rice women's tennis team earned a trip to a sixth consecutive Conference USA championship match with a 5-0 win over North Texas at the Waranch Tennis Complex on Saturday.
The 37th ranked Owls (17-5) will face No. 40 FIU (21-1) in a rematch of the 2016 title match at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. The Panthers advanced to the final with a 4-0 win over Western Kentucky.
Hodge, who is currently ranked 110th, downed UNT's 76th ranked Maria Kononova, 6-4, 6-2 to deliver the clinching point for the Owls on a chilly, blustery day as temperatures dropped more than 25 degrees overnight.
"Obviously the conditions were a lot different today than yesterday and I thought we did a nice job moving and using the wind to our advantage," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "It was a solid match by our team. I thought we did a better job coming out in doubles today and getting quick starts."
After scrambling to secure the doubles point in their quarterfinal match against UTSA on Friday, the Owls stormed out of the gate on Saturday. Alison Ho and Priya Niezgoda finished first for the second straight day and they were quickly followed by Hodge and Wendy Zhang who handed Kononova and Tamuna Kutubidze their first loss of the season on court one.
"Yesterday we started off slow on a couple of courts so today it was good to see us turn it around and come out firing," Ho said. "That was big for us."
Rice carried the momentum of the doubles win into singles, taking five of six first sets, but the Mean Green staged a brief rally in the second sets before the Owls steadied the ship and picked up wins by Katherine Ip, Ho, Hodge and Fernanda Astete.
"What I was happy to see was when North Texas raised their level, we were able to raise our level as well," Schmidt noted.
Rice and FIU have met three times in history, including in each of the last two C-USA tournaments. The Owls downed the Panthers 4-1 in the 2015 semifinals and then became the first women's tennis team to win four consecutive C-USA titles with a 4-1 win in the title match last year.
"We have a ton of respect for them," Schmidt said. "We had a battle with them last year and we expect the same tomorrow. They've had a great season and I'm just looking forward to getting out there and playing them. "
No. 5 North Texas vs No. 1 Rice
4/22/2017 at Denton, TX
(Waranch Tennis Complex)
#37 No. 1 Rice 5, No. 5 North Texas 0
Singles competition
1. #110 Lindsey Hodge (RICE) def. #76 Maria Kononova (NT) 6-4, 6-2
2. Katherine Ip (RICE) def. Tamuna Kutubidze (NT) 6-1, 6-1
3. Wendy Zhang (RICE) vs. Alexis Thoma (NT) 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
4. Fernanda Astete (RICE) def. Alexandra Heczey (NT) 6-1, 6-4
5. Savannah Durkin (RICE) vs. Minying Liang (NT) 4-6, 4-1, unfinished
6. Alison Ho (RICE) def. Laura Arciniegas (NT) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #90 Lindsey Hodge/Wendy Zhang (RICE) def. Maria Kononova/Tamuna Kutubidze (NT) 6-2
2. Priya Niezgoda/Alison Ho (RICE) def. Alexandra Heczey/Ivana Babic (NT) 6-2
3. Katherine Ip/Savannah Durkin (RICE) vs. Alexis Thoma/Minying Liang (NT) 3-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
No. 5 North Texas 11-12
No. 1 Rice 17-5; National ranking #37
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,6,1,4)
Players Mentioned
