Saturday, May 4
Austin, TX
9:30 AM
Rice University
3
vs
4
Texas A&M University
Aggie Rally Ends Season
5/4/2019 1:45:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Rice falls 4-3 in NCAA opener
The Lead: For the second year in a row, the Rice women's tennis team stood on the verge of advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship with a lead against Texas A&M in the third set of a 3-3 match and for the second consecutive year, the Owls fell in a 4-3 heartbreaker. The 18th ranked Aggies rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the final singles set to end the Owls season at 16-8.
Doubles: Texas A&M jumped out quickly with a win at the third line and then clinched the doubles with a win on one.
Singles: In need of four wins in singles, the Owls responded quickly by taking four of six first sets. Victoria Smirnova drew the Owls even with her seventh consecutive win, downing the Aggies 75th ranked Jayci Goldsmith 6-3, 7-5. Priya Niezgoda, who captured the Owls fourth first set with a tiebreak win, closed out Renee McBryde, 7-6 (6), 6-4 and moments later Michaela Haet won in three sets over 52nd ranked Katya Townsend to give the 39th ranked Owls a 3-1 lead. But the Aggies rebounded from seeing both of their first set wins being sent to third sets by winning both to tie the match 3-3 and set up the deciding point at the third singles line, where Tatiana Makarova outlasted Anastasia Smirnova 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 to clinch the match.
Notes: Victoria Smirnova ended her freshman season with a 17-5 record in singles, the most wins by a freshman at Rice since Natalie Beazant won 25 matches in 2012. Niezgoda's win was her 14th (14-7) which is a career best. Haet's win was her fifth in 2019 over a ranked opponent, her third in dual matches this spring. Rice fell to 6-12 in NCAA play, 6-8 under Elizabeth Schmidt. Rice is 0-3 vs. Texas A&M in NCAA tournament play.
Elizabeth Schmidt: "It was obviously a great college tennis match. Credit to A&M for staying tough and making extra balls when it came to it. A&M took it to us in doubles. They came out ready to go and we didn't. That was disappointing. I told our team after the doubles that we needed to bring more intensity and we did that. Across the board there were six really competitive matches out there. You didn't know until the last point who was going to win the match. I'm proud of our team. They left everything they had out on the court. We have to get a little more of an edge and an attitude to turn matches like this into "W's". At this level you have to have that a little more. They've been a really enjoyable group to work with this season. The exciting thing is that everybody who was in the starting lineup today is going to be back next year. Obviously, they were hungry this year, but they are going to be even hungrier because I know how much this loss stings for them and for everyone with the program. I'm confident they are going to use it to get better."
Up Next: Haet will compete in the NCAA Women's Singles tournament, which opens play on May 20 in Orlando, Florida.
Doubles: Texas A&M jumped out quickly with a win at the third line and then clinched the doubles with a win on one.
Singles: In need of four wins in singles, the Owls responded quickly by taking four of six first sets. Victoria Smirnova drew the Owls even with her seventh consecutive win, downing the Aggies 75th ranked Jayci Goldsmith 6-3, 7-5. Priya Niezgoda, who captured the Owls fourth first set with a tiebreak win, closed out Renee McBryde, 7-6 (6), 6-4 and moments later Michaela Haet won in three sets over 52nd ranked Katya Townsend to give the 39th ranked Owls a 3-1 lead. But the Aggies rebounded from seeing both of their first set wins being sent to third sets by winning both to tie the match 3-3 and set up the deciding point at the third singles line, where Tatiana Makarova outlasted Anastasia Smirnova 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 to clinch the match.
Notes: Victoria Smirnova ended her freshman season with a 17-5 record in singles, the most wins by a freshman at Rice since Natalie Beazant won 25 matches in 2012. Niezgoda's win was her 14th (14-7) which is a career best. Haet's win was her fifth in 2019 over a ranked opponent, her third in dual matches this spring. Rice fell to 6-12 in NCAA play, 6-8 under Elizabeth Schmidt. Rice is 0-3 vs. Texas A&M in NCAA tournament play.
Elizabeth Schmidt: "It was obviously a great college tennis match. Credit to A&M for staying tough and making extra balls when it came to it. A&M took it to us in doubles. They came out ready to go and we didn't. That was disappointing. I told our team after the doubles that we needed to bring more intensity and we did that. Across the board there were six really competitive matches out there. You didn't know until the last point who was going to win the match. I'm proud of our team. They left everything they had out on the court. We have to get a little more of an edge and an attitude to turn matches like this into "W's". At this level you have to have that a little more. They've been a really enjoyable group to work with this season. The exciting thing is that everybody who was in the starting lineup today is going to be back next year. Obviously, they were hungry this year, but they are going to be even hungrier because I know how much this loss stings for them and for everyone with the program. I'm confident they are going to use it to get better."
Up Next: Haet will compete in the NCAA Women's Singles tournament, which opens play on May 20 in Orlando, Florida.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
123
636
Katya Townsend / 0 (52/-) [TAMU]
464
#2 Singles Match
12
67
Jayci Goldsmith / 0 (75/-) [TAMU]
35
#3 Singles Match
123
665
Tatiana Makarova / 0 [TAMU]
477
#4 Singles Match
12
76
Renee McBryde / 0 [TAMU]
64
#5 Singles Match
123
471
Riley McQuaid / 0 [TAMU]
666
#6 Singles Match
123
563
Lucia Quiterio / 0 [TAMU]
736
Order of Finish:
2,4,1,5,6,3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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