Women's Tennis lifted by lower lineup

By Nicolette Chamberlain     2/7/13 6:00pm

The Rice women's tennis team's strength lies in numbers. Despite losing its last three of four matches and dropping to a 3-3 overall record, the Owls have proven that their successes derive from a full team effort.

In their match two weeks ago against Texas Tech University in Waco, it was No. 1 singles sophomore Natalie Beazant and No. 2 singles junior Dominique Harmath who earned the two victories in their 4-2 loss. Harmath was named Conference USA Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week after her strong performance in Waco, defeating a singles player from Texas Tech ranked in the top 50. On Sunday, the two victories against conference rival University of Tulsa came from the No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots held by junior Liat Zimmermann, who had missed three matches due to concussionlike symptoms, and freshman Solomiya Zinko. In Rice's 4-3 win over the University of Oklahoma Feb. 2, it was again the lower half of the lineup that executed.

"When the top of the lineup struggled a little bit this weekend, the lower spots did a great job stepping up," Head Coach Elizabeth Schmidt said.

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Even though the team was outplayed 5-2 against No. 23 Tulsa at an away game, the Owls made a strong showing on the road against Oklahoma the day before. They split singles, clinching wins in the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 spots, which left the meet to be determined by doubles. After being down 0-40 and three games in match point, senior Daniela Trigo and Zinko managed to come back 8-7 (7-4). This No. 3 doubles victory ended up being the deciding point of the match.

"This team plays as a team," Schmidt said. "The attitude that they put forth as a team carries forward to their individual play."

Although the women's tennis team has been picking up for each other's struggles, all of the players are going to have to step up to push toward a winning record. The competition continues for Rice this weekend with a match Saturday against the University of Texas, Arlington. However, the Owls are especially looking toward the matchup against conference rival Tulane University Feb. 15. With both matches at home, the team will be looking for support from both its teammates and fans to earn a pair of wins.

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