Friday, February 10
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
5 PM
Rice University
at
#21 Middle Tennessee
Photo by: RICE SID
Road Matches with Middle Tennessee and Vanderbilt Up Next For Owls
2/9/2023 8:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis
#21 Blue Raiders and Commodores host Owls
In Brief: The Rice men's tennis team returns to the road this weekend for a pair of matches in Tennessee, facing #21 Middle Tennessee on Friday at 5 p.m. and wrapping up with a match at Vanderbilt on Sunday at noon.
How to Follow:
Middle Tennessee: Video / Live Scores
Vanderbilt Video / Live Scores
Super Sunday: Sunday's match will mark the 15th time the Owls have played on Super Sunday and the second time (in the last two meetings) that Rice has played at Vanderbilt on Super Sunday. Rice is 7-7 all-time when playing as a warmup to the big game and the NFC is 5-2 when the Owls win their dual. They are 2-7 on the road for the Super Bowl and have lost their last seven (AFC is 5-2 in those seven games).
The Owls: Rice fell to 3-4 on the season after falling to LSU 4-2 last Saturday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. After the Tigers snapped Rice's five-match winning streak in doubles, the Owls fell just short of winning for the second time when losing the opening point. Wes Barnett and Kabeer Kapasi picked up two quick wins to put Rice up 2-1. After LSU retook the lead, 3-2, Emir Sendogan and Campbell Salmon each forced third sets and both were leading 3-1 in their deciding sets. But LSU rallied for the win at the sixth line while Salmon was leading 6-5 when the match was clinched.
Middle Tennessee: The Blue Raiders are 6-2 and ranked 21st in the latest ITA coaches poll. They opened play at the ITA Kickoff Weekend Winston-Salem Regional by defeating #19 Duke before falling to #10 Wake Forest 4-2. They have won the last three Conference USA titles and will be looking to add a fourth when Rice hosts the conference championship at the end of April. They have taken an 8-5 lead in the season series with Rice thanks to wins in the last five meetings, including a 5-2 win at GRBTC last year. Rice's last win in the series came in 2017 in the semifinals of the C-USA Championship which Rice won the following day over ODU.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores are 1-3 so far this yea dropping matches to USC, Memphis and Princeton before defeating Tennessee State last Saturday. Rice leads the series 3-2 since 1989, but Vanderbilt has won the last two meetings, including a 5-2 win in Nashville in 2021.
Notable:
• Rice is 5-2 in doubles this season and has a combined record of 12-5 so far this year. The Owls are 2-3 when winning the point, 1-1 when dropping the first point.
• Five of the first seven matches this season have been decided by the seventh point and Rice is 3-2 in 4-3 matches.
• Emir Sendogan has opened the year 6-0 in singles, while freshman Kabeer Kapasi has a 6-0 mark in doubles while partnering with Yasha Zemel (5-0) and Eduardo Morais (1-0)
• Clinch Points: Trinity Grear, Emir Sendogan and Yasha Zemel (1)
Up Next: The Owls return home next weekend to host Tulane at the GRBTC at 11 a.m. on February 18.
How to Follow:
Middle Tennessee: Video / Live Scores
Vanderbilt Video / Live Scores
Super Sunday: Sunday's match will mark the 15th time the Owls have played on Super Sunday and the second time (in the last two meetings) that Rice has played at Vanderbilt on Super Sunday. Rice is 7-7 all-time when playing as a warmup to the big game and the NFC is 5-2 when the Owls win their dual. They are 2-7 on the road for the Super Bowl and have lost their last seven (AFC is 5-2 in those seven games).
The Owls: Rice fell to 3-4 on the season after falling to LSU 4-2 last Saturday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. After the Tigers snapped Rice's five-match winning streak in doubles, the Owls fell just short of winning for the second time when losing the opening point. Wes Barnett and Kabeer Kapasi picked up two quick wins to put Rice up 2-1. After LSU retook the lead, 3-2, Emir Sendogan and Campbell Salmon each forced third sets and both were leading 3-1 in their deciding sets. But LSU rallied for the win at the sixth line while Salmon was leading 6-5 when the match was clinched.
Middle Tennessee: The Blue Raiders are 6-2 and ranked 21st in the latest ITA coaches poll. They opened play at the ITA Kickoff Weekend Winston-Salem Regional by defeating #19 Duke before falling to #10 Wake Forest 4-2. They have won the last three Conference USA titles and will be looking to add a fourth when Rice hosts the conference championship at the end of April. They have taken an 8-5 lead in the season series with Rice thanks to wins in the last five meetings, including a 5-2 win at GRBTC last year. Rice's last win in the series came in 2017 in the semifinals of the C-USA Championship which Rice won the following day over ODU.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores are 1-3 so far this yea dropping matches to USC, Memphis and Princeton before defeating Tennessee State last Saturday. Rice leads the series 3-2 since 1989, but Vanderbilt has won the last two meetings, including a 5-2 win in Nashville in 2021.
Notable:
• Rice is 5-2 in doubles this season and has a combined record of 12-5 so far this year. The Owls are 2-3 when winning the point, 1-1 when dropping the first point.
• Five of the first seven matches this season have been decided by the seventh point and Rice is 3-2 in 4-3 matches.
• Emir Sendogan has opened the year 6-0 in singles, while freshman Kabeer Kapasi has a 6-0 mark in doubles while partnering with Yasha Zemel (5-0) and Eduardo Morais (1-0)
• Clinch Points: Trinity Grear, Emir Sendogan and Yasha Zemel (1)
Up Next: The Owls return home next weekend to host Tulane at the GRBTC at 11 a.m. on February 18.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men'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