Owls fall to No. 26 Texas but rebound against Northwestern State
Over the years, Rice and the University of Texas have played enough close matches in women’s tennis to where one might call the two teams rivals. But after the 26th-ranked Longhorns easily handled the Owls 5-2 in a match last Sunday in Austin, Texas, one might call the rivalry into question.
But that aside, Rice still heads into this weekend’s matches on a high note, having improved to 7-1 on the season after a 6-1 win over Northwestern State University at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium on Monday. The Owls will remain at home this weekend, taking on Sam Houston State University today at 3 p.m. and hosting Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi tomorrow at the same time.
These unranked teams signify the beginning of a relatively easy schedule from here on out — Rice’s next nine foes are all unranked, and seven of those matches will be held at home.
The Owls found themselves in a much tougher spot against Texas, taking on one of the more stacked lineups in the country. Highlighting the Longhorn roster is the No. 29 doubles duo of Marija Milic and Vanja Corovic. Sophomore Julie Chao and senior Dominique Karas found out just how good that partnership is while struggling in an 8-3 loss at the No. 1 slot.
However, the rest of the team picked up the slack in the next two matches. In a well-played contest, junior Emily Braid and freshman Varsha Shiva-Shankar paired to win 8-6 at No. 3 doubles. With the remaining doubles match staying tight throughout, senior Tiffany Lee and sophomore Rebecca Lin gutted out a tiebreaker win 9-8 and earned the Owls the doubles point.
Surprised by the unranked Owls’ tenacity, the Longhorns came out firing in singles. At No. 5, Braid could not overcome freshman Maggie Mello, who crushed Braid 6-2, 6-2. Karas made quick work of her opponent, Courtney Zauft, and triumphed 6-4, 6-2 to put Rice up 2-1. The Longhorn youth then pulled their weight, however, as Caroline Larsson defeated Lin 6-3, 6-1 and Stephanie Davison overpowered Lee 7-6, 6-1.
With the outcome still in the balance at 3-2 in Texas’ favor, both Chao and Shiva-Shankar pushed their matches to three sets. Shiva-Shankar displayed her speed and agility early, taking the first set. However, momentum shifted and she was unable to take the match, falling 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the win for Texas. The remaining match pitted Chao against Corovic at the top of the ladder. After winning the first set and dropping the second in a narrow tiebreaker, Chao could not handle Corovic’s final surge. Corovic notched the victory 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2 and thus completed the 5-2 advantage for the Longhorns, who moved to 3-1 on the year.
“We gave our all out there, but the win just slipped through our grips,” Karas said. “The team was excited at one point when it seemed like we were in good position to win, but that is the difference between us and the top 30 teams. They don’t give up points on the court. We have to work for every single point and have the confidence to win the ones that count.”
On a weekend marred by bad weather, Rice was forced to move the match with Northwestern State to Monday. The Owls demonstrated their resiliency by sweeping doubles to go up 1-0.
Setting the precedent from top to bottom, Rice similarily dominated singles competition. Chao cleaned out Bogusia Patzer 6-0, 6-1, finishing just before Shiva-Shankar demolished Marine Neveu 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6. Lee did not let anything slip by her either, only allowing two games to Adna Curukovic in a 6-1, 6-1 victory that clinched the dual-match win for the Owls. Karas and Braid also posted victories.
In a weekend marked by two uneven matches, Chao boosted her spring singles record to 7-4. Rice pulled off its fourth consecutive doubles point, turning the tables on its past doubles struggles.
After posting three dominant singles victories and helping her team pull away with yet another doubles point, Karas was named Conference USA Co-Player of the Week. Surprisingly, this was Karas’ first weekly honor from the C-USA.
“It is outstanding that Dominique got that recognition because she has given all her heart out there on the courts and never gives up,” head coach Roger White said. “Her play this past week is a testament to that. She won in straight sets at Texas and then came back the next day and beat a very tenacious opponent at home.”
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