Rice University
UT Arlington
Men's Tennis Wins at UT Arlington, 5-2
2/9/2024 5:11:00 PM | Men's Tennis
ARLINGTON, Texas — Men's tennis returned to the win column with a 5-2 victory at UT Arlington on Friday. The Owls are now 5-3 on the season.
Doubles: The Mavericks won the doubles match at the first position, putting the Owls in an early hole in the chase for the doubles point. At the second position, sophomores Santiago Navarro and Kabeer Kapasi squared the match with a 7-5 victory, leaving the doubles decision to the No. 3s. In a tiebreak, juniors Arthus de la Bassetiere and Eduardo Morais outlasted their UTA counterparts to score the 7-6 (3) victory and put Rice ahead in the match, 1-0.
Singles: Momentum continued in singles action as Navarro put the Owls ahead, 2-0, with a victory at the fifth position, 6-3, 6-1. Junior Emir Sendogan also won in straight sets at the fourth spot, 6-4, 6-0, and senior Trinity Grear delivered another clinching point with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at the second court. Playing the match to completion, the Owls picked up a fifth point from Kapasi's 7-5, 6-3 win at the sixth position.
Head coach Efe Ustundag: "I wasn't happy with the way we started the doubles and dug ourselves a hole, but we managed to fight out of it and get the point. We played solid in many of the singles matches and had some unlucky losses for Arthus and Yasha in the 10-point tiebreaks when the match was clinched. It was a good road win but we have to play better and start the match better tomorrow against SMU."
Up Next: The Owls stay in the DFW area to take on SMU. Due to weather conditions, the match has been moved to the Birch Tennis Center in Keller, Texas, and will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 5 p.m. (CT).
Players Mentioned
