Friday, February 21
College Station, TX
4 PM
Rice University
at
#13 Texas A&M
Ranked Foes on Tap for Owls
2/20/2020 4:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Combined Dual with LSU set for Sunday
In Brief: The Rice men's tennis team (3-3) will take on a pair of nationally ranked opponents this weekend. They face No. 13 Texas A&M (5-3) in College Station on Friday at4 p .m. and host No. 49 LSU (7-2) at 11 a.m. on Sunday as part of a combined dual with the Rice women the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
Live Scoring and Video: Texas A&M: Video / Live Stats; LSU: Combined match Live video and match scoring
Texas A&M: The Aggies opened the season by winning four straight, including a pair of matches during the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Their losses this season have come at #2 Ohio State and vs. #13 Michigan and #11 TCU at the ITA Indoor nationals. This is the 30th meeting between the schools with the Aggies holding a 25-4 advantage. They have won the last eight in the series, including a memorable 4-3 win at George R. Brown Tennis Center in 2017. Rice's last win in the series came in College Station in 2009 as the Owls closed out the end of their regular season by edging the 12th ranked Aggies, 4-3.
LSU: The Tigers have won their last two matches including a 7-0 decision against New Orleans on February 15. Their two losses this year have been to No. 25 Dartmouth and No. 39 Tulane by identical 4-3 scores. This will be the 15th meeting between the schools with LSU leading the series 10-5. Rice has won three of the last five, including both previous meetings at GRBTC. The Owls last win came in 2016 in the first combined match with the Rice women's team against the same school. The Rice men rallied for a 4-3 win over the 30th ranked Tigers. The schools have met consecutively since 2009, including a pair of years where they met during the season and again in the NCAA tournament (2009 & 2016).
Owls Notables:
Efe Ustundag: "This will be the toughest competition we've faced so far this year. This is the time of year where we have to raise our level of focus, our level of intensity and execution. If we do all of those things, we can win. We know we are the underdogs, but if these guys can play at the level we've seen from them at times over the last year, then we can give ourselves a chance. While (A&M) is coming off a couple losses, those were against three highly ranked teams. They are coming home after a few indoor matches on the road, so I am sure they're excited to be outside and playing at home. These kinds of battles are always an opportunity. That (the win over LSU in 2016) was an important step for that team that helped lead us to a conference title. Last year, we couldn't get a signature win to get the team rolling. The upcoming schedule is stacked with opportunity.
"I'm really glad that we are able to do more of these (combined matches with the women's team against the same school). I think that SMU is going to turn into one as well. People get it. The LSU coaches believe in the product and the chance to create a great atmosphere. I know our Marketing department has been reaching out to a number of groups, including LSU alumni. We're with our women's team every day. It's a tight-knit family and competing side-by-side is always fun."
George R. Brown Tennis Center: Rice has posted a 55-18 regular season record at GRBTC (6-5 vs. ranked teams) since opening for the 2015 dual season. The Owls have also posted a 3-1 postseason mark while hosting a pair of Conference USA championships, including a 3-0 mark while winning the 2016 title.
The Schedule Ahead: The Owls remaining schedule features eight teams currently in the Oracle/ITA national rankings: (@#13 Texas A&M, 2/21; #49 LSU, 2/23; @#5 and defending NCAA Champion Texas, 3/8; #12 TCU, 3/11; #27 Middle Tennessee State, 3/13; @#33 Miami, 3/17; #35 Denver, 3/29 and #39 Tulane, 4/12 ). The Owls also take on six Conference USA schools (Charlotte, FAU, MTSU, Southern Miss, UAB and UTSA) in the regular season for the first time since Rice joined the conference in 2005.
Next Up: The Owls will be back in action at GRBTC on March 1 when they host SMU at 11 a.m. as part of a second combined match with the Rice women (who will face Baylor), followed by a 4 p.m. match with Prairie View.
Follow the Action:
For the most up-to-date information on Rice Tennis follow the Owls on Twitter @RiceTennis or Instagram @ricewtennis or like Rice Men's Tennis on Facebook.
Live Scoring and Video: Texas A&M: Video / Live Stats; LSU: Combined match Live video and match scoring
Texas A&M: The Aggies opened the season by winning four straight, including a pair of matches during the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Their losses this season have come at #2 Ohio State and vs. #13 Michigan and #11 TCU at the ITA Indoor nationals. This is the 30th meeting between the schools with the Aggies holding a 25-4 advantage. They have won the last eight in the series, including a memorable 4-3 win at George R. Brown Tennis Center in 2017. Rice's last win in the series came in College Station in 2009 as the Owls closed out the end of their regular season by edging the 12th ranked Aggies, 4-3.
LSU: The Tigers have won their last two matches including a 7-0 decision against New Orleans on February 15. Their two losses this year have been to No. 25 Dartmouth and No. 39 Tulane by identical 4-3 scores. This will be the 15th meeting between the schools with LSU leading the series 10-5. Rice has won three of the last five, including both previous meetings at GRBTC. The Owls last win came in 2016 in the first combined match with the Rice women's team against the same school. The Rice men rallied for a 4-3 win over the 30th ranked Tigers. The schools have met consecutively since 2009, including a pair of years where they met during the season and again in the NCAA tournament (2009 & 2016).
Owls Notables:
- Rice is 3-1 at home and 0-2 on the road in 2020.
- Rice is 2-3 so far this year in the doubles point (2-0 when winning the point).
- The Owls are 1-7 so far in singles tiebreakers, 2-2 in supersets; 2-0 in doubles tiebreaks.
- Clinch points: Jacob Eskeland 2, Campbell Salmon 1.
Efe Ustundag: "This will be the toughest competition we've faced so far this year. This is the time of year where we have to raise our level of focus, our level of intensity and execution. If we do all of those things, we can win. We know we are the underdogs, but if these guys can play at the level we've seen from them at times over the last year, then we can give ourselves a chance. While (A&M) is coming off a couple losses, those were against three highly ranked teams. They are coming home after a few indoor matches on the road, so I am sure they're excited to be outside and playing at home. These kinds of battles are always an opportunity. That (the win over LSU in 2016) was an important step for that team that helped lead us to a conference title. Last year, we couldn't get a signature win to get the team rolling. The upcoming schedule is stacked with opportunity.
"I'm really glad that we are able to do more of these (combined matches with the women's team against the same school). I think that SMU is going to turn into one as well. People get it. The LSU coaches believe in the product and the chance to create a great atmosphere. I know our Marketing department has been reaching out to a number of groups, including LSU alumni. We're with our women's team every day. It's a tight-knit family and competing side-by-side is always fun."
George R. Brown Tennis Center: Rice has posted a 55-18 regular season record at GRBTC (6-5 vs. ranked teams) since opening for the 2015 dual season. The Owls have also posted a 3-1 postseason mark while hosting a pair of Conference USA championships, including a 3-0 mark while winning the 2016 title.
The Schedule Ahead: The Owls remaining schedule features eight teams currently in the Oracle/ITA national rankings: (@#13 Texas A&M, 2/21; #49 LSU, 2/23; @#5 and defending NCAA Champion Texas, 3/8; #12 TCU, 3/11; #27 Middle Tennessee State, 3/13; @#33 Miami, 3/17; #35 Denver, 3/29 and #39 Tulane, 4/12 ). The Owls also take on six Conference USA schools (Charlotte, FAU, MTSU, Southern Miss, UAB and UTSA) in the regular season for the first time since Rice joined the conference in 2005.
Next Up: The Owls will be back in action at GRBTC on March 1 when they host SMU at 11 a.m. as part of a second combined match with the Rice women (who will face Baylor), followed by a 4 p.m. match with Prairie View.
Follow the Action:
For the most up-to-date information on Rice Tennis follow the Owls on Twitter @RiceTennis or Instagram @ricewtennis or like Rice Men's Tennis on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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