Rice University Athletics
Four Owls Named to All C-USA First Team
6/15/2020 11:01:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Niezgoda and Bowtell earn honors in singles and doubles
Senior Priya Niezgoda and junior Anna Bowtell, who combined for an 18-5 mark in dual singles during the abbreviated 2020 women's tennis campaign, have earned All-Conference USA first team honors in a vote by league coaches. The pair joined with their double partners (Anastasia and Victoria Smirnova) to earn first team honors in doubles as well.
Niezgoda finished her senior season with an 8-4 record in dual singles and 17-10 for the season. She and Anastasia Smirnova closed the season with a 5-3 record (4-2 at the first line) and were ranked 40th in the final Oracle/ITA national standings. They are ninth doubles team in school history to finish the season ranked in the top 50 and the first since 2016. They posted a pair of wins over ranked doubles opponents in the spring, including a 6-2 win over Oklahoma's Jasmine Asghar and Oleksandra Korashvili (who were ranked 27th at that time) at the ITA Kickoff in Raleigh, North Carolina in January.
Bowtell ended the year with a nine-match winning streak and led the Owls with a 10-1 mark in dual singles (20-4 overall). She earned her first C-USA Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honor the week of February 26 after posting straight-set wins vs. Texas State and LSU. Bowtell combined with Victoria Smirnova for an undefeated doubles record in dual action (5-0). Their top doubles win in dual action was a tiebreaker over Kansas' Julia Deming and Vasiliki Karvouni to clinch the point against the 31st ranked Jayhawks.
This the first time either Niezgoda or Bowtell were named to the first team in singles, Both earned second team singles honors in 2019. Niezgoda and Anastasia Smirnova were repeat honorees on the first team in doubles while Bowtell and Victoria Smirnova were second team selections in 2019.
Niezgoda finished her senior season with an 8-4 record in dual singles and 17-10 for the season. She and Anastasia Smirnova closed the season with a 5-3 record (4-2 at the first line) and were ranked 40th in the final Oracle/ITA national standings. They are ninth doubles team in school history to finish the season ranked in the top 50 and the first since 2016. They posted a pair of wins over ranked doubles opponents in the spring, including a 6-2 win over Oklahoma's Jasmine Asghar and Oleksandra Korashvili (who were ranked 27th at that time) at the ITA Kickoff in Raleigh, North Carolina in January.
Bowtell ended the year with a nine-match winning streak and led the Owls with a 10-1 mark in dual singles (20-4 overall). She earned her first C-USA Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week honor the week of February 26 after posting straight-set wins vs. Texas State and LSU. Bowtell combined with Victoria Smirnova for an undefeated doubles record in dual action (5-0). Their top doubles win in dual action was a tiebreaker over Kansas' Julia Deming and Vasiliki Karvouni to clinch the point against the 31st ranked Jayhawks.
This the first time either Niezgoda or Bowtell were named to the first team in singles, Both earned second team singles honors in 2019. Niezgoda and Anastasia Smirnova were repeat honorees on the first team in doubles while Bowtell and Victoria Smirnova were second team selections in 2019.
Players Mentioned
/ 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