Rice University Athletics
Friday, March 15
Houston, Texas
11:00 am
Rice University
vs
#20 Pepperdine
No. 20 Pepperdine Opens Weekend Slate for Rice
3/14/2019 9:02:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Owls host Pepperdine and Dartmouth
The Rice women's tennis team will wrap up their Spring Break by returning to the George R. Brown Tennis Center this weekend to host a pair of matches. The 41st ranked Owls open the weekend by hosting No. 20 Pepperdine on Friday at 11 a.m. and then close out the weekend slate with an 11 a.m. match with Dartmouth.
The Waves (6-3) are ranked 20th in the latest Oracle ITA computer poll and 12th in the Tennis Channel USTA media poll and that ranking will likely jump after they blanked No. 6 UCLA 4-0 on Wednesday. The Waves will take on No. 8 Texas on Saturday in Austin to wrap up their quick trip to the Lone Star state. Dartmouth (3-8) will be opening their Spring Break trip with the match against Rice, followed by matchups with TCU and SMU next week.
"The nice thing about Spring Break for us is the team doesn't have the stress of class this week so they can really focus on training as well as relax," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "We did a team building activity Wednesday night where we went to an escape room together and they found their way out, which was exciting for them. This week is a great opportunity to catch up on some sleep and take a break from the grind of classes while getting in some good work on the courts."
Pepperdine leads the all-time series by a 4-1 margin, but the Owls won the most recent meeting with a 4-3 win in the opening round of the Stanford Regional of 2013 NCAA Championships. Pepperdine had won the first four matches, including a 7-0 win at Jake Hess in 2007.
"We're looking forward to getting back on our home courts this weekend," Schmidt noted. "Pepperdine obviously had a big win yesterday over UCLA. Our team has had a good week of practice heading into an opportunity to play a ranked opponent who has had a lot of success the past few years.
"Dartmouth has several Texas players on their team. I know some of them (from juniors) and Priya (Niezgoda) knows a few of them. They are coming home for Spring Break and every time we've played Ivy League teams it's been a tough, hard fought match and I expect the same on Sunday."
The Waves (6-3) are ranked 20th in the latest Oracle ITA computer poll and 12th in the Tennis Channel USTA media poll and that ranking will likely jump after they blanked No. 6 UCLA 4-0 on Wednesday. The Waves will take on No. 8 Texas on Saturday in Austin to wrap up their quick trip to the Lone Star state. Dartmouth (3-8) will be opening their Spring Break trip with the match against Rice, followed by matchups with TCU and SMU next week.
"The nice thing about Spring Break for us is the team doesn't have the stress of class this week so they can really focus on training as well as relax," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "We did a team building activity Wednesday night where we went to an escape room together and they found their way out, which was exciting for them. This week is a great opportunity to catch up on some sleep and take a break from the grind of classes while getting in some good work on the courts."
Pepperdine leads the all-time series by a 4-1 margin, but the Owls won the most recent meeting with a 4-3 win in the opening round of the Stanford Regional of 2013 NCAA Championships. Pepperdine had won the first four matches, including a 7-0 win at Jake Hess in 2007.
"We're looking forward to getting back on our home courts this weekend," Schmidt noted. "Pepperdine obviously had a big win yesterday over UCLA. Our team has had a good week of practice heading into an opportunity to play a ranked opponent who has had a lot of success the past few years.
"Dartmouth has several Texas players on their team. I know some of them (from juniors) and Priya (Niezgoda) knows a few of them. They are coming home for Spring Break and every time we've played Ivy League teams it's been a tough, hard fought match and I expect the same on Sunday."
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