Friday, February 28
Houston, TX
1 PM
Rice University
6
vs
1
UTSA
Owls Win C-USA Opener
2/28/2020 3:12:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Host #19 Baylor on Sunday
Houston: The Rice women's tennis team opened its second consecutive weekend of home tennis by downing UTSA 6-1 in the Conference USA opener for the Owls (6-5,1-0). UTSA dropped to 5-6/1-2 heading into a Sunday meeting with the University of Houston.
Doubles: Rice grabbed the first point of the day by closing out the matches at the second and third lines by identical 6-2 scores. Anna Bowtell and Victoria Smirnova clinched the point with their win at the third line to improve their season dual mark to 4-0.
Singles: The Owls maintained momentum from doubles by racing to wins in all six first singles sets, dropping just six combined games in the process. Victoria Smirnova posted the second point of the day with a swift win at the second line and she was followed shortly after by Anna Bowtell, who won her seventh consecutive singles match. Linda Huang followed with the clinch point at the fifth line and Diae El Jardi and Priya Niezgoda wrapped up the scoring for the Owls with wins at the sixth and third lines.
Elizabeth Schmidt: "I thought our team did a nice job across the board of coming out after doubles and starting solid in singles. Everyone had the right mentality and attitude and it was a solid match. Now our goal is to carry that forward into practice tomorrow and then to the match on Sunday. (Baylor) had been a very successful program and we've played them a ton recently. We played a close one early in the season last year (4-3 loss on January 21, 2019) indoors at their place. They are going to make you earn every point with the way they play. You have to be ready to go, ready to play your game. It's going to be a great match and another great environment similar to last weekend with the men playing at the same time. It should be a great day."
Up Next: The Owls will welcome 19th ranked Baylor to GRBTC at 11 a.m. on Sunday as part of a "Throwback Sunday" doubleheader as the Rice men will face off against SMU.
Tennis Match Results
UTSA Women's Tennis vs Rice
2/28/2020 at Houston, Texas
(George R. Brown Tennis Center)
Rice 6, UTSA Women's Tennis 1
Singles competition
1. Jasmin Starr (UTSA) def. Michaela Haet (RICE) 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7)
2. Victoria Smirnova (RICE) def. Laura Cabrera (UTSA) 6-0, 6-1
3. Priya Niezgoda (RICE) def. Laura Munoz-Baroja (UTSA) 6-2, 6-1
4. Anna Bowtell (RICE) def. Kylee Kato (UTSA) 6-0, 6-2
5. Linda Huang (RICE) def. Catalina Cabrique (UTSA) 6-2, 6-1
6. Diae El Jardi (RICE) def. Keegan McCain (UTSA) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Michaela Haet/Priya Niezgoda (RICE) vs. Keegan McCain/Jasmin Starr (UTSA) 2-5, unfinished
2. Maria Budin/Diae El Jardi (RICE) def. Catalina Cabrique/Kylee Kato (UTSA) 6-2
3. Anna Bowtell/Victoria Smirnova (RICE) def. Laura Cabrera/Diya Mennon (UTSA) 6-2
Match Notes:
UTSA Women's Tennis 5-6
Rice 6-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,4,5,6,3,1)
T-1:48 A-35
Doubles: Rice grabbed the first point of the day by closing out the matches at the second and third lines by identical 6-2 scores. Anna Bowtell and Victoria Smirnova clinched the point with their win at the third line to improve their season dual mark to 4-0.
Singles: The Owls maintained momentum from doubles by racing to wins in all six first singles sets, dropping just six combined games in the process. Victoria Smirnova posted the second point of the day with a swift win at the second line and she was followed shortly after by Anna Bowtell, who won her seventh consecutive singles match. Linda Huang followed with the clinch point at the fifth line and Diae El Jardi and Priya Niezgoda wrapped up the scoring for the Owls with wins at the sixth and third lines.
Elizabeth Schmidt: "I thought our team did a nice job across the board of coming out after doubles and starting solid in singles. Everyone had the right mentality and attitude and it was a solid match. Now our goal is to carry that forward into practice tomorrow and then to the match on Sunday. (Baylor) had been a very successful program and we've played them a ton recently. We played a close one early in the season last year (4-3 loss on January 21, 2019) indoors at their place. They are going to make you earn every point with the way they play. You have to be ready to go, ready to play your game. It's going to be a great match and another great environment similar to last weekend with the men playing at the same time. It should be a great day."
Up Next: The Owls will welcome 19th ranked Baylor to GRBTC at 11 a.m. on Sunday as part of a "Throwback Sunday" doubleheader as the Rice men will face off against SMU.
Tennis Match Results
UTSA Women's Tennis vs Rice
2/28/2020 at Houston, Texas
(George R. Brown Tennis Center)
Rice 6, UTSA Women's Tennis 1
Singles competition
1. Jasmin Starr (UTSA) def. Michaela Haet (RICE) 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7)
2. Victoria Smirnova (RICE) def. Laura Cabrera (UTSA) 6-0, 6-1
3. Priya Niezgoda (RICE) def. Laura Munoz-Baroja (UTSA) 6-2, 6-1
4. Anna Bowtell (RICE) def. Kylee Kato (UTSA) 6-0, 6-2
5. Linda Huang (RICE) def. Catalina Cabrique (UTSA) 6-2, 6-1
6. Diae El Jardi (RICE) def. Keegan McCain (UTSA) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Michaela Haet/Priya Niezgoda (RICE) vs. Keegan McCain/Jasmin Starr (UTSA) 2-5, unfinished
2. Maria Budin/Diae El Jardi (RICE) def. Catalina Cabrique/Kylee Kato (UTSA) 6-2
3. Anna Bowtell/Victoria Smirnova (RICE) def. Laura Cabrera/Diya Mennon (UTSA) 6-2
Match Notes:
UTSA Women's Tennis 5-6
Rice 6-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,4,5,6,3,1)
T-1:48 A-35
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
123
Jasmin Starr / 0 [UTSA]
261
620
#2 Singles Match
12
Laura Cabrera / 0 [UTSA]
01
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Laura Munoz-Baroja / 0 [UTSA]
21
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Kylee Kato / 0 [UTSA]
02
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Catalina Cabrique / 0 [UTSA]
21
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Keegan McCain / 0 [UTSA]
02
66
Order of Finish:
2,4,5,6,3,1
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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