Kezuka Joins Owls for 23-24 Season
6/1/2023 2:15:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Grad transfer helped lead Iowa State to #8 in final rankings
Rice head women's tennis coach Elizabeth Schmidt announced on Thursday the addition of grad transfer Chie Kezuka, who will join the Owls for the 2023-24 season after helping guide Iowa State to the quarterfinals of the 2023 NCAA Championship and a top-ten finish in the final ITA rankings.
The native of Fujisawa, Japan compiled a 52-19 career mark in singles dual play over four seasons, including an 18-1 mark as a junior. She was named the Big XII Individual Singles Champion at the fifth line in 2022, the first conference individual champion in school history, in addition to earning second-team All-Big XII honors. She was 13-8 this past season, playing primarily at the sixth line on a Cyclone team that finished eighth in the final national rankings. In addition to reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship, Iowa State earned its first national seed and hosted its first NCAA Regional, and opened the dual season by reaching the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship.
"We are thrilled Chie will be joining us next season, Schmidt stated. "Not only does she have a wealth of college tennis experience at the highest level, but she also is a great person. She is hard-working, positive, and resilient. She has a real passion for competing and we are looking forward to her being part of the Rice family."
Kezuka will join incoming freshmen Anushka Ashar and Divna Ratkovic, who were ranked by TennisRecruiting.net in February as the 15th-best recruiting class in the nation, for the fall season. They will combine with five returners from a team that finished the year ranked 57th and were the runners-up at the C-USA Championship as they begin their inaugural season in The American Athletic Conference.
The native of Fujisawa, Japan compiled a 52-19 career mark in singles dual play over four seasons, including an 18-1 mark as a junior. She was named the Big XII Individual Singles Champion at the fifth line in 2022, the first conference individual champion in school history, in addition to earning second-team All-Big XII honors. She was 13-8 this past season, playing primarily at the sixth line on a Cyclone team that finished eighth in the final national rankings. In addition to reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship, Iowa State earned its first national seed and hosted its first NCAA Regional, and opened the dual season by reaching the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship.
"We are thrilled Chie will be joining us next season, Schmidt stated. "Not only does she have a wealth of college tennis experience at the highest level, but she also is a great person. She is hard-working, positive, and resilient. She has a real passion for competing and we are looking forward to her being part of the Rice family."
Kezuka will join incoming freshmen Anushka Ashar and Divna Ratkovic, who were ranked by TennisRecruiting.net in February as the 15th-best recruiting class in the nation, for the fall season. They will combine with five returners from a team that finished the year ranked 57th and were the runners-up at the C-USA Championship as they begin their inaugural season in The American Athletic Conference.
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