Sports Notebook: Women's tennis smokes Louisville, C-USA tournament next (Online-only)
In a season that has seen a variety of up-and-down performances over the last month and a half, the women's tennis team saved their best victory for last, defeating the University of Louisville (11-10) by a margin of 7-0, winning all matches in the process. Seniors Rebekka Hanle and Jessica Jackson combined to have a hand in two double matches and two singles matches victories, as Hanle and junior Ana Guzman won their match 8-5, while Jackson and sophomore Daniella Trigo won 8-4. The other doubles contest saw junior Alex Rasch and freshman Dominique Harmath cruise to an 8-1 win. With the doubles point in hand, the No. 65 Owls (13-9) lost no time in clinching the match, as Rasch won her match in a quick two sets, losing just four games. Harmath and Jackson followed suit, claiming two-set victories to give Rice a 4-0 advantage over the Cardinals. Freshman Kim Anicete reeled in her team-leading 16th victory of the year, while Guzman and Hanle finished up their matches in three and two sets, respectively. Hanle was fittingly the last Owl to walk off the court, having been the squad's top-seeded player and de facto team leader for this season. Jackson and fellow senior Varsha Shiva-Shankar also left Jake Hess Tennis Stadium for the last time in their careers, having been honored with Hanle before the start of the match. But the story hasn't ended yet for them, as Rice will be seeded fourth for the Conference USA Tennis Championship that started yesterday at the University of Central Florida. Rice will face the winner of the match between fifth-seeded University of Central Florida (11-7) and the 12th-seeded University of Alabama-Birmingham (7-12) at 2 p.m. today.
More from The Rice Thresher
Michigan professor Amy Dittmar named Rice’s next provost
Amy Dittmar, the senior vice provost for academic and budgetary affairs and a professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan, has been selected as Rice’s new provost, incoming president Reginald DesRoches announced Thursday. DesRoches, the current provost, will become Rice’s president on July 1, and Dittmar will start August 1.
Forbes takes silver at NCAAs
On Thursday, sophomore distance runner Grace Forbes proved to the rest of the country what her Conference USA opponents and Rice teammates have known for years – she’s one of the fastest runners in the country. Competing at the NCAA championships in Eugene, Ore. for the second consecutive year, Forbes, took second place in the 10,000-meter, the best finish by an Owl at the NCAAs in over a decade. According to Forbes, who missed the indoor season and the first month of the outdoor season due to extreme fatigue later diagnosed as an autoimmune disorder, the result was a testament to the work she’s put in to overcome an incredibly challenging year.
NCAA T&F prelims see five Owls qualify for championships, Forbes take gold
Five Owls will be heading to next week’s NCAA outdoor track and field championships, after qualifying at the NCAA West Preliminaries which ran May 25 through 28. Headlining the meet for Rice was sophomore distance-runner Grace Forbes, who took first place in the 10,000 meters for the second consecutive year. Forbes will be joined in Eugene, Ore., by sophomore thrower Tara Simpson-Sullivan, junior thrower Erna Gunnarsdottir, senior thrower James McNaney and sophomore vaulter Alex Slinkman. Jon Warren, head coach of the men’s track and field program, said that he was impressed not only by the five qualifiers, but by all 13 Owls who participated over the course of the week in Fayetteville, Ark.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.