Sports notebook: Twice is nice for women's tennis

By Jonathan Myers     2/10/11 6:00pm

The 48th-ranked women's tennis squad got back in the swing of things this past week, notching two victories over regional rivals. After having their match against the University of Houston postponed until Saturday due to Friday's inclement weather, the Owls took advantage of the extra day of rest by easily overpowering the Cougars 5-2. The Owls swept all three doubles matches, with the closest margin of victory coming in the second seeded match, where junior Alex Rasch and freshman Dominique Harmath defeated Maja Kazimieruk and Joanna Kacprzyk from the University of Houston. After her clinching doubles victory, Harmath took out Bryony Hunter in two sets for Rice's second singles victory, bringing the margin to a nearly insurmountable 3-0. The lead proved to be too much for Houston, as junior Ana Guzman closed out the match with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Kazimieruk. Despite the match effectively being over, the last three sets in progress were allowed to finish, producing the Cougars' only two points, which were a three-set match victory by Giorgia Pozzan over senior Jessica Jackson and a loss by freshman Kimberly Anicete to Kacprzyk. The loss dropped Houston to 2-2 and Rice moved up to a 3-2 mark. After the long hiatus from Jake Hess Tennis Stadium, the Owls were ready to return to their home court Tuesday against Louisiana State University (0-1). Much like the match against Houston, the Owls started off with a sweep of the doubles matches to go up 1-0 against the Tigers. Guzman picked up another point in the first singles match against Yvette Vlaar. The next three matches went in alternating fashion, with LSU pulling within one point after a two-set loss by sophomore Daniella Trigo, then Rice going up 3-1 after Harmath's fourth victory in the last two matches, and finally LSU's Whitney Wolf, the 33rd ranked player in the nation, bested senior Rebekka Hanle in the top-seeded match to make it 3-2. However, Anicete came through for the Owls at the end, getting her second match-clinching victory of the year, this time in two sets over high school teammate Ariel Morton. LSU's Kaitlin Burns finished off Jackson in three sets, but the win was already set in stone for Rice, who improved to 4-2, while the 75th-ranked LSU squad dropped to 0-1.

The team will stay at home to face Texas State University (2-0) at 10 a.m. and the University of Texas-Pan American(2-2) at 3 p.m. this Sunday.

- Jonathan Myers

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