Rice University Athletics
Saturday, April 18
Houston, TX
10 AM
Rice University
4
vs
3
Charlotte
Photo by: American Athletic Conference/Ben Soloman
No. 3 Rice Takes Down No. 2 Seed Charlotte to Advance to American Conference Championship Match
4/18/2026 2:46:00 PM | Women's Tennis
HOUSTON – The No. 3-seeded Rice Owls defeated No. 2-seeded Charlotte 4-3 to advance to the championship match of the American Conference Championship at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
No. 51 Rice (16-6) snapped Charlotte's 17-match winning streak and avenged a 4-1 loss to the Niners earlier this season.
Rice battled through doubles play to secure the opening point. Francesca Maguina and Ema Mravcova earned a 6-2 win over Shona Nakano and Andrea Chacon, but Charlotte evened the score when Darya Schwartzman and Fernanda Martinez fell 6-3 to Sara Suchankova and Ni Xi. On court three, Divna Ratkovic and Daniela Chica clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (7-4) victory over Lucia Aranda and Yelyzaveta Chainykova.
In singles, Charlotte struck first as Uma Bakaityte fell 6-3, 6-4 to Nakano. Nithesa Selvaraj responded with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Chainykova to give Rice the lead. The Niners regained momentum with back-to-back wins, as Schwartzman dropped a three-set match (2-6, 6-3, 6-0) to Xi, and Prisca Abbas defeated Mravcova 6-4, 7-6 on court six.
Maguina evened the match with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory, setting the stage for Ratkovic. As the crowd erupted following Maguina's win on court four, Ratkovic battled through a rally that lasted over a minute before securing a 6-3, 6-3 victory to clinch the match for the Owls.
The Owls' last appearance in a conference championship match came in 2023, when they fell 4-1 to FIU in the Conference USA title match.
Rice also defeated Charlotte, 4-2, in the 2023 semifinals as the No. 3 seed against the No. 2-seeded Niners.
Rice will face No. 1-seeded Wichita State in the championship match at noon Sunday. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
#33 S. Suchankova/N. Xi (CLT) def. D. Schwartzman/F. Martinez (RICE) 6-3
F. Maguina/E. Mravcova (RICE) def. S. Nakano/A. Chacon (CLT) 6-2
D. Ratkovic/D. Chica (RICE) def. L. Aranda/Y. Chainykova (CLT) 7-6
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
X. Ni (CLT) def. D. Schwartzman (RICE) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
D. Ratkovic (RICE) def. S. Suchankova (CLT) 6-3, 6-3
S. Nakano (CLT) def. U. Bakaityte (RICE) 6-3, 6-4
F. Maguina (RICE) def. L. Aranda (CLT) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
N. Selvaraj (RICE) def. Y. Chainykova (CLT) 6-4, 6-4
P. Abbas (CLT) def. E. Mravcova (RICE) 6-4, 7-6
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 6, 1, 4 ,2
No. 51 Rice (16-6) snapped Charlotte's 17-match winning streak and avenged a 4-1 loss to the Niners earlier this season.
Rice battled through doubles play to secure the opening point. Francesca Maguina and Ema Mravcova earned a 6-2 win over Shona Nakano and Andrea Chacon, but Charlotte evened the score when Darya Schwartzman and Fernanda Martinez fell 6-3 to Sara Suchankova and Ni Xi. On court three, Divna Ratkovic and Daniela Chica clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (7-4) victory over Lucia Aranda and Yelyzaveta Chainykova.
In singles, Charlotte struck first as Uma Bakaityte fell 6-3, 6-4 to Nakano. Nithesa Selvaraj responded with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Chainykova to give Rice the lead. The Niners regained momentum with back-to-back wins, as Schwartzman dropped a three-set match (2-6, 6-3, 6-0) to Xi, and Prisca Abbas defeated Mravcova 6-4, 7-6 on court six.
Maguina evened the match with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory, setting the stage for Ratkovic. As the crowd erupted following Maguina's win on court four, Ratkovic battled through a rally that lasted over a minute before securing a 6-3, 6-3 victory to clinch the match for the Owls.
The Owls' last appearance in a conference championship match came in 2023, when they fell 4-1 to FIU in the Conference USA title match.
Rice also defeated Charlotte, 4-2, in the 2023 semifinals as the No. 3 seed against the No. 2-seeded Niners.
Rice will face No. 1-seeded Wichita State in the championship match at noon Sunday. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
#33 S. Suchankova/N. Xi (CLT) def. D. Schwartzman/F. Martinez (RICE) 6-3
F. Maguina/E. Mravcova (RICE) def. S. Nakano/A. Chacon (CLT) 6-2
D. Ratkovic/D. Chica (RICE) def. L. Aranda/Y. Chainykova (CLT) 7-6
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
X. Ni (CLT) def. D. Schwartzman (RICE) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
D. Ratkovic (RICE) def. S. Suchankova (CLT) 6-3, 6-3
S. Nakano (CLT) def. U. Bakaityte (RICE) 6-3, 6-4
F. Maguina (RICE) def. L. Aranda (CLT) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
N. Selvaraj (RICE) def. Y. Chainykova (CLT) 6-4, 6-4
P. Abbas (CLT) def. E. Mravcova (RICE) 6-4, 7-6
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 6, 1, 4 ,2
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
123
630
Ni Xi / 0 [CLT]
266
#2 Singles Match
12
66
Sara Suchankova / 0 [CLT]
33
#3 Singles Match
12
34
Shona Nakano / 0 [CLT]
66
#4 Singles Match
123
636
Lucia Aranda / 0 [CLT]
363
#5 Singles Match
12
66
Y. Chainykova / 0 [CLT]
44
#6 Singles Match
12
45
Prisca Abbas / 0 [CLT]
67
Order of Finish:
3,5,6,1,4,2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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