Rice University
Lamar
Men's Tennis Sweeps Lamar, 4-0
1/21/2024 11:15:00 PM | Men's Tennis
HOUSTON, Texas — Rice recorded its third consecutive sweep to begin the season, defeating Lamar, 4-0, on Sunday at the Downtown Club at the Met.
Doubles: The Owls secured the doubles point courtesy of wins at the first and third positions. At the third position, juniors Arthus de la Bassetiere and Emir Sendogan kicked off the match with a 6-1 victory. At the top spot, senior Yasha Zemel and sophomore Santiago Navarro clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 victory. At the time of clinch, senior Trinity Grear and sophomore Kabeer Kapasi led on court two, 4-0.
Singles: The bottom half of the singles lineup carried the torch in singles play. At the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, Sendogan and Navarro each posted 6-0, 6-0 victories to put the Owls on the verge of victory. Kapasi won the race to the clinching point with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at the No. 6 spot. Bassetiere led 6-2, 5-4, and was serving for the match at the time of clinch. At the second position, Grear led 7-6 (6), 4-0, while Zemel was serving down 1-0 in a decisive third set at the top spot.
Head coach Efe Ustundag: "It was great that the matches we won, we won them convincingly. It's always good when you have a lead to finish the matches. It was great in doubles, we never really let our opponents back into the match. In these conditions, one tough game leads to a break and it's tough to get back. I thought we did a great job of getting the doubles point that way. In singles, the back courts really took care of business… Across the board, I felt we did a really good job today."
"The good thing is we have another week to prepare. Obviously, it's against a very good indoor team; TCU has won this event back-to-back years. All we can do is train hard, take care of our bodies, and put our best out on the court. Tennis is a funny thing and a lot of things can happen, but we do have to progress this week."
Up Next: The Owls are set to participate in the ITA Kickoff Weekend against No. 4-ranked TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 2 pm. Rice will then face off against either Princeton or Tulsa on Sunday, Jan. 28, as part of ITA Kickoff Weekend.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,4,6
Players Mentioned
