Sunday, April 7
Houston, Texas
9:30 am
Rice University
4
vs
0
FIU
Owls Blank FIU on Senior Day
4/7/2019 4:07:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Fast start at GRBTC, quick finish indoors
The Lead: The Rice women's tennis team refused to let a line of strong thunderstorms put a damper on their plans to send out senior Fernanda Astete with a win in her final regular season home match, dropping FIU 4-0 on Sunday.
Doubles: The Owls (12-7) stormed out gates in doubles, capturing the point thanks to 6-1 wins on both the second and third lines. Anna Bowtell and Victoria Smirnova finished first and Priya Niezgoda and Anastasia Smirnova improved to 10-2 with their clinching win.
Singles: With the first point in hand and the line of storms looming on the horizon, the Owls seemed determined to grab the three points needed to close out the match on their home court. Niezgoda, Anastasia Smirnova and Linda Haung lost a combined five games to grab their opening singles sets before the leading edge of the storm halted play. The match resumed at the Sweetwater Country Club in Sugarland, initially with only one available court, which Smirnova used to close out her 12th win of the spring and extend the lead to 2-0. Play expanded to four courts shortly after her win and Huang and Niezgoda maintained their momentum to provide the clinching points against the defending C-USA champions.
Elizabeth Schmidt: "Our team came to the courts with an attitude and focus. It was really nice to see the quick start in doubles and again in singles. And then the way we handled the rain and having to move indoors. We kept our focus, we kept our intensity and attitude from the start of this match. We adapted to the circumstances. I'm proud of this team for the effort they gave today and proud they were able to give Fer (Fernanda Astete) a "W" on Senior Day. I'm excited to get them back on the practice courts this week and continue to work on the things we are working and continue to grow as we head into our last regular season match.
Up Next: Rice wraps up its 2019 regular season next Saturday when they make the short trip to the University of Houston for an 11 a.m. dual. The Owls will be back in action at GRBTC in two weeks when they host the Conference USA Championship, which begins on April 18.
Doubles: The Owls (12-7) stormed out gates in doubles, capturing the point thanks to 6-1 wins on both the second and third lines. Anna Bowtell and Victoria Smirnova finished first and Priya Niezgoda and Anastasia Smirnova improved to 10-2 with their clinching win.
Singles: With the first point in hand and the line of storms looming on the horizon, the Owls seemed determined to grab the three points needed to close out the match on their home court. Niezgoda, Anastasia Smirnova and Linda Haung lost a combined five games to grab their opening singles sets before the leading edge of the storm halted play. The match resumed at the Sweetwater Country Club in Sugarland, initially with only one available court, which Smirnova used to close out her 12th win of the spring and extend the lead to 2-0. Play expanded to four courts shortly after her win and Huang and Niezgoda maintained their momentum to provide the clinching points against the defending C-USA champions.
Elizabeth Schmidt: "Our team came to the courts with an attitude and focus. It was really nice to see the quick start in doubles and again in singles. And then the way we handled the rain and having to move indoors. We kept our focus, we kept our intensity and attitude from the start of this match. We adapted to the circumstances. I'm proud of this team for the effort they gave today and proud they were able to give Fer (Fernanda Astete) a "W" on Senior Day. I'm excited to get them back on the practice courts this week and continue to work on the things we are working and continue to grow as we head into our last regular season match.
Up Next: Rice wraps up its 2019 regular season next Saturday when they make the short trip to the University of Houston for an 11 a.m. dual. The Owls will be back in action at GRBTC in two weeks when they host the Conference USA Championship, which begins on April 18.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
123
Veksler,Maryna / 0 [FIU]
200
64UF
#2 Singles Match
123
Umarova,Kamila / 0 [FIU]
700
61UF
#3 Singles Match
12
Akbas,Basak / 0 [FIU]
12
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Bozinovic,Sandra / 0 [FIU]
22
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Bakaite,Paulina / 0 [FIU]
40
5UF
#6 Singles Match
12
Turrillo,Maria / 0 [FIU]
12
66
Order of Finish:
3,6,4
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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