Rice University Athletics

Owls Advance to ITA Regional Doubles Title Match
10/20/2018 5:10:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Lead: Anna Bowtell and Victoria Smirnova rallied from a first set loss to defeat Olivia Peet and Sydney Jones of Texas Tech to reach the doubles finals of the ITA Texas Regional in College Station on Saturday while Priya Niezgoda advanced to the consolation singles semifinals with a pair of wins on Saturday.
The Details: Bowtell and Smirnova shook off a 6-2 loss in the opening set to storm back to win, 7-5, 1-0 and give the Owls a doubles finalist for the second consecutive year. They will face North Texas' Maria Kononova and Tamuna Kutubidze who staged a rally of their own to spoil the prospects of an all-Owl final by defeating Michaela Haet and Linda Huang, 5-7, 7-6, 1-0. Niezgoda won twice in straight sets to earn a berth in the consolation singles against Nidhi Surapaneni of North Texas. She is two wins away from giving the Owls the consolation singles winner for a second straight year. Savannah Durkin captured the title in 2017.
The Sunday Schedule:
Doubles Final: 8:30 a.m.
Consolation Singles Semifinals: 9:30 a.m. Finals 10:30 a.m.
The Results:
Consolation Singles:
Priya Niezgoda (Rice University) def. Ana Perez (Texas State) 6-2, 7-5
Priya Niezgoda (Rice University) def. Nini Memishishi (Abilene Christian) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles competition
Anna Bowtell/Victoria Smirnova (Rice University) def. Olivia Peet/Sydney Jones (Texas Tech) 2-6, 7-5, 1-0
Tamuna Kutubidze/Maria Kononova (North Texas) def. Michaela Haet/Linda Huang (Rice University) 5-7, 7-6, 1-0.
The Goal: Bowtell and Smirnova will be looking to duplicate the win in 2017 by Lindsey Hodge and Wendy Zhange and advance to the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships from November 7-11, 2018, at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona, which recently hosted the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championships and previously hosted the 2016 ITA Small College Championships.
The Details: Bowtell and Smirnova shook off a 6-2 loss in the opening set to storm back to win, 7-5, 1-0 and give the Owls a doubles finalist for the second consecutive year. They will face North Texas' Maria Kononova and Tamuna Kutubidze who staged a rally of their own to spoil the prospects of an all-Owl final by defeating Michaela Haet and Linda Huang, 5-7, 7-6, 1-0. Niezgoda won twice in straight sets to earn a berth in the consolation singles against Nidhi Surapaneni of North Texas. She is two wins away from giving the Owls the consolation singles winner for a second straight year. Savannah Durkin captured the title in 2017.
The Sunday Schedule:
Doubles Final: 8:30 a.m.
Consolation Singles Semifinals: 9:30 a.m. Finals 10:30 a.m.
The Results:
Consolation Singles:
Priya Niezgoda (Rice University) def. Ana Perez (Texas State) 6-2, 7-5
Priya Niezgoda (Rice University) def. Nini Memishishi (Abilene Christian) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles competition
Anna Bowtell/Victoria Smirnova (Rice University) def. Olivia Peet/Sydney Jones (Texas Tech) 2-6, 7-5, 1-0
Tamuna Kutubidze/Maria Kononova (North Texas) def. Michaela Haet/Linda Huang (Rice University) 5-7, 7-6, 1-0.
The Goal: Bowtell and Smirnova will be looking to duplicate the win in 2017 by Lindsey Hodge and Wendy Zhange and advance to the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships from November 7-11, 2018, at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona, which recently hosted the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championships and previously hosted the 2016 ITA Small College Championships.
Players Mentioned
WBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02



















