Rice University
Old Dominion
Men's Tennis Splits Matches Against Ranked Teams at Blue Gray Classic
2/24/2024 9:31:00 PM | Men's Tennis
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Rice men's tennis split a pair of matches against ranked opponents on the final day of the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. The Owls defeated No. 47 Middle Tennessee, 4-3, in the first match of the day, before falling to No. 26 Middle Tennessee, 4-0, to conclude the tournament.
Doubles versus ODU: The Owls began doubles play against the Blue Raiders on Friday evening. Middle Tennessee claimed the doubles point with victories at the second and third positions. Senior Yasha Zemel and sophomore Kabeer Kapasi were in the midst of a tiebreak at the first position when the point was clinched.
Singles versus ODU: Facing a 1-0 deficit, the Owls were able to quickly reverse the momentum with victories at the fourth and sixth positions. Junior Emir Sendogan won at the No. 4 spot, 6-2, 6-2, before Kapasi put the Owls ahead with a 6-0, 6-4 win at the sixth court. The Blue Raiders then reclaimed the advantage with a pair of victories in No. 1 and No. 3 singles. With Middle Tennessee one point away from a win, freshman Petro Kuzmenok delivered the first clutch point for the Owls, winning, 6-3, 6-4, at the fifth position to tie the match at 3-3. Senior Trinity Grear then delivered for Rice again, clinching the match with a second-set tiebreaker victory. Grear won, 6-0, 7-6 (3) at the second position to secure the Owls' first win over a ranked opponent this season.
Doubles versus MTSU: Against the Blue Raiders, Grear and Kuzmenok combined for a 7-5 win at the second position. The doubles point came down to the third spot where juniors Arthus de la Bassetiere and Eduardo Morais forced a tiebreak but could not overcome their MTSU counterparts as the Blue Raiders claimed the doubles point.
Singles versus MTSU: Middle Tennessee kept momentum in singles, winning the first set at five positions. Kapasi at the sixth position was the only Owl to win an opening set, doing so in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (6), before MTSU clinched the match with victories at the first, third and fifth spots of the lineup.
Up Next: The Owls return to the friendly confines of the George R. Brown Tennis Center to host Air Force on Saturday, March 2, at 11 a.m. (CT).
Players Mentioned
