Friday, March 25
Houston, Texas
Noon
Rice University
vs
New Mexico
63rd Ralph O'Connor Rice Invitational Opens Friday
3/24/2022 4:28:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Alumni Recognition Match on Sunday
In Brief: The Rice men's team will welcome back alumni as it celebrates the 63rd edition of the Ralph O'Connor Rice Invitational this weekend. This year's event features 73rd ranked East Tennessee State and New Mexico in addition to the Owls.
Tournament Central
Live Scoring/Video
The Invite: Founded in 1958 as a singles and doubles championship draw at the Glencrest Country Club in Houston, the Rice Invitational became a showcase event for upcoming tennis talent. Future Wimbledon singles and US Open doubles champion Chuck McKinley led Trinity to the title in 1960. He was inducted into the ITA Men's Hall of Fame, the first of seven Rice Invitational singles winners who would go on to be inducted into the Hall (Antonio Palafox, Corpus Christi; Mike Estep and Harold Solomon, Rice; Dick Stockton, Trinity; Mike DePalmer & Paul Annacone, Tennessee). The singles competition was phased out in 1989 in place of the current dual format. Rice has won 17 of the last 25 team titles, but saw their run of 10 consecutive team titles end in 2018 as Wichita State finished the weekend unbeaten. In 2019, the invitational was re-branded as part of a celebration of the late Ralph O'Connor, a life-long supporter of Rice and the sport of tennis, whose family provided the lead gift for the Owls tennis facility. At that same time, the street in front of GRBTC was re-named "O'Connor Way"
The Schedule: Friday: Rice vs. New Mexico (noon); Saturday: East Tennessee State vs. New Mexico (noon); Sunday: Rice vs. East Tennessee State (11 a.m.)
Calling All Alumni: Sunday's match is the annual Alumni Recognition Match. All tennis alumni are asked to register in advance.
The Owls: Rice is 9-10 heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
East Tennessee State: The Buccaneers are ranked 73rd in the latest ITA computer rankings and come into the weekend with a 10-5 record. They dropped a 4-3 decision at home to Charlotte, who downed the Owls 5-2 at GRBTC on March 11. This will be the first meeting between the Owls and Bucs.
New Mexico: The Lobos are 6-7 this season after blanking Boston College 7-0 in their most recent match. The schools met six times between 1987 and 2002 with New Mexico winning all six, including a 5-2 win in 1995 in the only previous meeting in Houston.
George R. Brown Tennis Center: Rice is 71-32 in dual action since moving into their current home in the fall of 2014. They are 9-7 in C-USA play and 6-12 all-time against ranked opponents.
Notable:
Tournament Central
Live Scoring/Video
The Invite: Founded in 1958 as a singles and doubles championship draw at the Glencrest Country Club in Houston, the Rice Invitational became a showcase event for upcoming tennis talent. Future Wimbledon singles and US Open doubles champion Chuck McKinley led Trinity to the title in 1960. He was inducted into the ITA Men's Hall of Fame, the first of seven Rice Invitational singles winners who would go on to be inducted into the Hall (Antonio Palafox, Corpus Christi; Mike Estep and Harold Solomon, Rice; Dick Stockton, Trinity; Mike DePalmer & Paul Annacone, Tennessee). The singles competition was phased out in 1989 in place of the current dual format. Rice has won 17 of the last 25 team titles, but saw their run of 10 consecutive team titles end in 2018 as Wichita State finished the weekend unbeaten. In 2019, the invitational was re-branded as part of a celebration of the late Ralph O'Connor, a life-long supporter of Rice and the sport of tennis, whose family provided the lead gift for the Owls tennis facility. At that same time, the street in front of GRBTC was re-named "O'Connor Way"
The Schedule: Friday: Rice vs. New Mexico (noon); Saturday: East Tennessee State vs. New Mexico (noon); Sunday: Rice vs. East Tennessee State (11 a.m.)
Calling All Alumni: Sunday's match is the annual Alumni Recognition Match. All tennis alumni are asked to register in advance.
The Owls: Rice is 9-10 heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
East Tennessee State: The Buccaneers are ranked 73rd in the latest ITA computer rankings and come into the weekend with a 10-5 record. They dropped a 4-3 decision at home to Charlotte, who downed the Owls 5-2 at GRBTC on March 11. This will be the first meeting between the Owls and Bucs.
New Mexico: The Lobos are 6-7 this season after blanking Boston College 7-0 in their most recent match. The schools met six times between 1987 and 2002 with New Mexico winning all six, including a 5-2 win in 1995 in the only previous meeting in Houston.
George R. Brown Tennis Center: Rice is 71-32 in dual action since moving into their current home in the fall of 2014. They are 9-7 in C-USA play and 6-12 all-time against ranked opponents.
Notable:
- Rice is 7-3 when clinching the doubles point, 2-7 when dropping the first point of the match.
- Freshman Haoyuan Huang (13-4) leads the Owls in singles and has won his last nine of his last 10 decisions. He is 10-2while playing at the first line.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
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