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September 22, 2006 > Sports > Veterans, freshmen strive for Owls’ second C-USA title

Veterans, freshmen strive for Owls’ second C-USA title

By Dylan Farmer | Thresher Editorial Staff

After appearing in its first-ever conference championship two years ago and winning its first-ever conference championship last spring, the women’s tennis team hopes this year will end only after some victories in the NCAA tournament.

In his sixth straight season leading Rice is head coach Roger White, who was named the 2006 Conference USA Coach of the Year in the Owls’ first season in their new league. White was also named Coach of the Year in 2005, Rice’s last year in the Western Athletic Conference.

Last season, the Owls topped an otherwise lackluster 9-12 regular season by becoming the lowest-seeded team ever to win the C-USA tournament. Seventh-seeded Rice won the title with wins over the top three seeds at the tournament, including an impressive 4-1 victory over top-seeded and 51st-ranked Southern Methodist University.

The team victory gave Rice its first ever NCAA birth, but the joy was short-lived as the Owls fell 4-0 to 16th-ranked Texas Christian University in the first round.

White said the team is yet to establish its main goal for this year, but he hopes this year’s team advances at least as far as last year’s.

“It would be obvious to say we want to repeat as conference champions and we want to return to postseason play,” White said. “Beyond that, the team and I have to get on the same page before I can talk about it.”

The biggest obstacle the Owls face is replacing Blair DiSesa (Martel ‘06), last year’s Conference USA Player of the Year, and Medeja Egic (Lovett ‘06). The two were team captains — DiSesa a constant atop the Owl lineup and Egic a motivating force in the No. 4 spot.

DiSesa’s 92 career singles wins placed her fifth on Rice’s all time list, and she finished last year ranked 76th in the nation and the only ranked player from C-USA. Her ranking and 15-9 singles record qualified her for the NCAA tournament — making her the first Owl to receive the honor for singles since Wendy Wood (Will Rice ‘86) in 1986.

Several players return to make up for the loss at the top of the lineup, including junior Christine Dao, who spent the majority of last year at the No. 2 spot behind DiSesa, and redshirt sophomore Dominique Karas, who was sidelined with an injury for a large portion of last year. Also returning are juniors Tiffany Lee and Kimberly Patenaude, and sophomores Alanna Rodgers and Emily Braid, all of whom saw substantial playing time last year.

“I think there’s a lot of people who have the ability to lead this team, whether they eventually become the captains or not,” White said. “I think everybody has a selfless interest in seeing us do the absolute best we can, and that’s really a neat environment.”

The team’s experience means this year’s freshman class will have to compete for the few available spots. Rebecca Lin and Julie Chao, both recruited from San Diego, Calif., should be able to make a significant impact on a team that had several freshmen in the lineup last year. Joining them are two walk-on players, Jennifer Pan, from Oak Park, Calif., and Veronica Saqastequi, from Houston.

White said this year’s new players should have an immediate effect on the team’s play.

“[Lin and Chao] were ranked in the top 40 in the nation in their recruiting class,” White said. “They [along with Pan and Saqastequi] bring a lot of energy and just need some experience. They’re going to be tremendous college players.”

The Owls have already made a good start this season, reaching or winning the final match of three draws at the season-opening Baylor Fall Invitational, held last weekend in Waco, Tex. In singles, Chao lost in the semifinals of the A flight consolation bracket, and Lee defeated Rodgers in an all-Rice quarterfinal of the B bracket before advancing to the final, where she lost to SMU’s Clair Rietsch in straight sets. Braid advanced to the final of the C bracket, falling to Louisville’s Jo-Ann VanAerde 6-3, 6-1. In doubles, Patenaude and Lee lost in the B flight semifinals to top-seeded Kate Purice and Christi Baxley of Oklahoma. In the C flight, Braid and Lin advanced to the consolation finals, falling to Rachel Cox and Brittany Baldy, also from OU.

Dao said she is pleased with how the team has adapted to the new lineup.

“I think everyone’s afraid of change, but with the new team it’s been a pleasant surprise,” she said. “I definitely loved the seniors and the chemistry we had, especially coming off the conference win last year, but I feel like our new additions are great and our chemistry is still good.”

The tennis year is split into two semesters. In the fall, players enter tournaments as individuals, representing their schools but looking for individual honors. In the spring, the players compete as part of a team, with each player’s victories contributing to an overall score. Rice has a relatively light fall schedule, and the next competition for Rice is the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships Sept. 30 - Oct. 5 in Pacific Palisades, Calif., followed by the Rice Tennis Classic Oct. 6-8 at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. The Owls then have one more tournament before the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in Fort Worth in mid-October. The Harvard Invitational, scheduled for Nov. 3-5 in Boston, Mass. rounds out the fall season.

Dao said the team wants to set a positive tone for the rest of the year.

“I think everyone wants to do her best and see the team do its best, and we all just want to get in shape for the spring semester, when dual matches start. That’s what really matters.”

End of article

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