Navarro Earns C-USA Honor
3/8/2023 10:37:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week, presented by Blenders Eyewear
Freshman Santiago Navarro has been named the Conference USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week. The weekly awards are presented by Blenders Eyewear.
Navarro provided the clinching point in one match and a crucial straight-set win in the second as Rice swept a pair of matches in Albuquerque, New Mexico last weekend.
Coming off his first career singles win in dual matches one week earlier, Navarro ground out a 7-5, 7-6 win to provide the clinching point over Portland. The following day, he keyed the Owls' win over No. 68 New Mexico. First, he teamed with Campbell Salmon for one of the Owls' two doubles wins to grab the first point. He carried that momentum over to singles and was the only Owl to win his first set and maintained his advantage to win 6-4, 6-4 to post the second point while his teammates forced three of the five remaining matches to third sets, eventually winning 4-3 to record the Owls' first win over a ranked opponent since 2016.
He is the second member of the team to be honored by the conference this year. Emir Sendogan was recognized in the second week of the season after his clinching victory at Denver.
The win over New Mexico allowed the Owls to move into the ITA rankings for the first time this season. Rice will take a #71 ranking into this weekend's 64th Ralph O'Connor Rice Invitational featuring the Owls, Samford and New Orleans. Rice opens play against Samford at 5 p.m. on Friday and faces New Orleans in the final match of the weekend on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Navarro provided the clinching point in one match and a crucial straight-set win in the second as Rice swept a pair of matches in Albuquerque, New Mexico last weekend.
Coming off his first career singles win in dual matches one week earlier, Navarro ground out a 7-5, 7-6 win to provide the clinching point over Portland. The following day, he keyed the Owls' win over No. 68 New Mexico. First, he teamed with Campbell Salmon for one of the Owls' two doubles wins to grab the first point. He carried that momentum over to singles and was the only Owl to win his first set and maintained his advantage to win 6-4, 6-4 to post the second point while his teammates forced three of the five remaining matches to third sets, eventually winning 4-3 to record the Owls' first win over a ranked opponent since 2016.
He is the second member of the team to be honored by the conference this year. Emir Sendogan was recognized in the second week of the season after his clinching victory at Denver.
The win over New Mexico allowed the Owls to move into the ITA rankings for the first time this season. Rice will take a #71 ranking into this weekend's 64th Ralph O'Connor Rice Invitational featuring the Owls, Samford and New Orleans. Rice opens play against Samford at 5 p.m. on Friday and faces New Orleans in the final match of the weekend on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Players Mentioned
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