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Julie Doar

OPINION 4/5/17 8:00am

Rec must improve communication with club teams

By Julie Doar

I didn’t think the hardest part of captaining the two-time national champion women’s ultimate team would be acquiring field space. For Torque, which is a club sport, communication with the Recreation Center has been a long-term problem.

SPORTS 3/25/14 7:59pm

Clark visits NCAA championship

By Julie Doar

Last weekend, swimmer Casey Clark represented Rice University in three events at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. Clark, a Baker College junior, competed in the 100-yard butterfly, the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle events.

NEWS 2/10/14 6:00pm

Women's tennis drops match against Baylor on the road

By Julie Doar

The Rice University women's tennis team fell 6-1 to Baylor University last Saturday, Feb. 8. Junior Natalie Beazant earned the Owls' only win. The Owls have lost their last three games to the University of Texas, Austin; Stanford University; and Baylor, all of which are ranked in the top 20.This weekend, Rice will try to end its losing streak against McNeese State University on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. McNeese State currently has an overall record of 2-1, while the Owls are 2-3.Head Coach Elizabeth Schmidt said Baylor came out hard last weekend and played a better game. She said the Owls wanted the wins but were just unable to pick them up due to Baylor's pressure."[Baylor] played better than us today from start to finish," Schmidt said. "It would have been nice to grab a couple of those tight first sets, but Baylor did a good job making an extra ball and putting the pressure on us."Schmidt said that this week, Rice will simply focus on improving, and the team will work hard at practice to clean up any messy playing."We'll get back to work [this week] and continue to get better," Schmidt said.Schmidt said the team still firmly believes in their ability to compete with elite teams and emerge victorious. She said the Owls can definitely give any team a fight."I still believe that we can play with anyone in the country," Schmidt said. "We just need to trust ourselves and have confidence."Senior Dominique Harmath also said Rice has a lot of fight. She said the players know they have the capacity to win these matches against high-profile players."I was extremely impressed with the fight everyone showed," Harmath said. "We know we are good, and we know we can do great things."After the game against McNeese State, Rice will head to Montgomery, Ala., where it will take part in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic the weekend of Feb. 22.Schmidt said winning is a top priority. She said being competitive is not enough; the team's goal is to play hard and win. Schmidt said she hopes the defeats will make the Owls even more determined to attain victories in the coming weeks."You want to go out and be competitive in every match, but the bottom line is we also want to win," Schmidt said. "We can take some positives from this, but I hope it makes us hungrier, so we can put seven points on the board."

NEWS 1/27/14 6:00pm

Women's tennis prepares for No. 1 Stanford

By Julie Doar

The Rice University women's tennis team went 1-1 this past weekend, beating Florida State University 4-3 and losing to the University of Texas, Austin 4-1 at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association kickoff. Rice is now ranked No. 22 with a 2-1 record.The Owls pulled off a close win against No. 24-ranked FSU thanks to junior Natalie Beazant and senior Dominique Harmath winning third-set tiebreakers.Head Coach Elizabeth Schmidt said the win against FSU was hard-fought and the team never stopped playing."This was a gritty team victory," Schmidt said. "We had great efforts on all six singles lines. They each fought their hearts out all day."Schmidt said the No. 17 Longhorns posed a greater challenge to the Owls. She said the loss could be attributed to a slow start and inability to maintain consistent momentum, rather than any lack of work or determination."We didn't lose this match because of a lack of fight," Schmidt said. "We shook off a slow start in doubles and came out strong in singles. The match was a series of momentum shifts all afternoon. It all came down to a couple of points at the end. But by the same token, you have to give credit to Texas. They fought just as hard, and they pulled out those matches at the end."Beazant said she needs to adjust to the new scoring rules that quicken the pace of doubles. She said the team needs to adjust to this faster pace."I don't know how I feel about the no warm-up rule before singles, because it's quite the bit of a rush," Beazant said. "I guess we'll get used to it. It's just one of those things you've got to adjust to. It's definitely different."This weekend is shaping up to be filled with highly competitive play for the Owls. After facing No. 65 Louisiana State University on Friday, Rice will play Stanford University, the No. 1 team in the ITA polls and the defending NCAA champion, on Saturday, Feb. 1.Beazant said the team is trying to achieve a level of consistency. She said the Owls are looking forward to continuing their strong start to the season. To that end, Beazant said they need to keep up with their preparation before matches."[We're] making sure we keep match fit," Beazant said. 

NEWS 1/20/14 6:00pm

Women's tennis ready for ITA event

By Julie Doar

The Rice University women's tennis team started its 2014 season with a 7-0 win over Lamar University on Saturday. The team quickly gained the doubles point to take an early 1-0 advantage. In singles play, the Owls won five of the six matches in straight sets to secure the win. With this victory under their belts, the Rice Owls head to Austin this weekend for the Indoor Tennis Association kickoff weekend. They will face Florida State University on Saturday, Jan. 25 and either the University of Texas, Austin or Auburn University on Sunday, Jan. 26.Head Coach Elizabeth Schmidt said she was happy with the results on Saturday. She said it was an ideal way to start the season."I'm really proud of the team for the match today," Schmidt said. "I thought we came out and set the tone."Schmidt said she was especially satisfied that the Owls exemplified determination and fight, qualities which Lamar admired."I was really pleased," Schmidt said. "In the middle of the match, the [Lamar] coach came up to me and said, 'Your team has a lot of fight.' A compliment like that from another coach says a lot about your team, and that's definitely what I wanted to see from our team today."Freshmen Alison Ho and Katherine Ip both gained their first dual match win Saturday. Schmidt said she was excited that the freshmen made such a positive impact right away."That's a great feat that we'll remember forever," Schmidt said. "[Ho and Ip] are a great addition to our team, and we're really happy that they were able to come through and really get their feet wet [with their first] dual match experience."Junior Natalie Beazant said the season is off to a good start."It was good to get back out and get some match play," Beazant said. "We have a great atmosphere here with all of the fans."Beazant said one of the major changes for her this season is adjusting to the new scoring rules. This year, it only takes six games to win at doubles (compared to eight last year) and players are only given 10 minutes in between doubles and singles matches. Beazant said the team must adjust to this shortening of matches."There's six games, so you could literally blink and it's over with," Beazant said. "It's important to get out there and start really fast, get a good warm-up and make sure your head's in the right place."The team now looks forward to the ITA kickoff. Schmidt said she anticipates tough competition against Florida State, UT and Auburn. She said last weekend's match against Lamar has prepared the team well."I think we have one of the toughest kickoff regions in the country," Schmidt said. "We're excited about that because we've got three other great teams in there. It's going to be a really exciting weekend of tennis, so I'm glad we were able to get a tough match in to start the season. Lamar pushed us in spots and made us earn it, and that's what we're going to have to do next weekend as well: go out there and earn it."

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