
Owls Sweep Cardinals on Thursday Afternoon
1/23/2025 5:03:00 PM | Women's Tennis
HOUSTON - The Rice Owls women's tennis team cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Lamar Cardinals on Thursday afternoon at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. The Owls improve to 2-0 on the season while Lamar drops its season opener and falls to 0-1.
Rice furiously opened the match with dominant victories in doubles to claim the first point of the match. Saara Orav and Francesca Maguina took the first doubles match at court three by a score of 6-1. Fernanda Martinez and Darya Schwartzman clinched the doubles point with a similar score of 6-1 at the No. 1 position. Nithesa Selvaraj and Divna Ratkoic were up 5-1 in their match and 40-0 in their current game at the No. 2 position when the match was called.
In singles, Rice did not let off the gas, taking down Lamar's players quickly in order to clinch the match. Ratkovic was the first Rice player to finish her singles match with a score of 6-0, 6-1. Schwartzman was not far behind, defeating her opponent at the No. 2 position by a score of 6-1, 6-1. Martinez was the clincher for the match, taking down her opponent by a final of 6-1, 6-0, to earn the fourth point and Rice's second victory of the season.
The match continued on past the clinching point, where Selvaraj secured Rice's fifth point with a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Maguina earned her second singles victory as a collegiate athlete with a 6-1 victory at the No. 5 position. Finally, Allison Zipoli closed the match with her second victory of the season, a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the No. 4 position, securing the sweep for Rice and ending the day on a high note.
Rice will return to action on Saturday afternoon when the Owls host Incarnate Word. Action is set to begin at 2 p.m.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
F. Martinez/D. Schwartzman (RICE) def. A. Miettunen/M. Do (Lamar), 6-1
N. Selvaraj/D. Ratkovic (RICE) vs. L. Paiva/M. Alcaino (Lamar), 5-1 uf
S. Orav/F. Maguina (RICE) def. E. Palus/Arina Gudovskaya (Lamar), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1
SINGLES
D. Schwartzman (RICE) def. A. Miettinen (Lamar), 6-1, 6-1
D. Ratkovic (RICE) def. M. Do (Lamar), 6-0, 6-1
N. Selvaraj (RICE) def. L. Paiva (Lamar), 6-0, 6-1
A. Zipoli (RICE) def. A. Gudovskaya (Lamar), 6-1, 6-2
F. Maguina (RICE) def. M. Alcaino (Lamar), 6-2, 6-1
F. Martinez (RICE) def. S. Bijlsma (Lamar), 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 6, 3, 5, 4
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
Order of Finish:
2,1,6,3,5