Men's tennis catches breath before facing Tulsa
When three straight wins over ranked opponents can be described as the calm before the storm, it is easy to see how tough the men's tennis schedule really is. Having already faced a dozen opponents ranked in the top 75 over the last few months, the men's tennis team took on three more at last weekend's Rice Invite, sweeping aside No. 46 University of Iowa, No. 68 Middle Tennessee State and No. 62 University of San Diego to capture the tournament crown.But now is no time for the 22nd-ranked Owls to exhale - their most important test of the season comes to Jake Hess Tennis Stadium this Wednesday. The University of Tulsa, currently ranked 11th in the nation, has given Rice the greatest trouble of any opponent in recent memory: The Golden Hurricane has halted the Owls' last two Conference USA championship runs in the final match to capture two consecutive conference titles.
Tulsa's current squad does not look to be any easier than the past teams, either. Two of Tulsa's doubles pairs are ranked in the top 40, and on the singles roster No. 18 Arnau Brugues heads up a tough lineup. The highest-ranked C-USA team, Tulsa has also won eight of its last nine contests against teams in the top 75.
Despite Tulsa's impressive resumé, there may be hope for the Owls: The Golden Hurricane has yet to beat a top 20 opponent and was recently humbled 6-1 by No. 9 University of Southern California.
Head coach Ron Smarr said although Rice has a chance to win, Tulsa's talent is still comparable to any other team in the country.
"They're a legitimate top 10 team, and they have a lot of talent," Smarr said. "They're very beatable, [but] they're very good in doubles and they're a very seasoned team. [Brugues] is as good as anyone in the country."
If the Owls can count on one thing as they prepare to square off with the Golden Hurricane, it is momentum. Not only will the match be at home, where Rice is 6-2 this year, but the Owls have been rolling since they began play against the Hawkeyes last Friday.
The home team began the opening match of the Rice Invite in convincing fashion, clinching doubles to jump to a 1-0 lead. Singles, however, was not quite as easy. After sophomore Christoph Müller, ranked 49th in the nation, downed Christian Bierich 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2, the Hawkeyes grabbed wins at Nos. 3 and 4 to tie the score.
Sophomore Dennis Polyakov stopped the bleeding with a straight-set win over Tommy McGeorge to give the Owls the lead for good.
Sophomore Bruno Rosa found himself down a set at the top of the lineup, but the 26th-ranked player in the nation staved off a tiebreak in the next set to knot the score up with Bart von Monsjou. He then made quick work of his foe in the final frame to clinch Rice's victory.
Smarr said that while only four of the Owls won their matches, the overall victory was the product of a solid team effort.
"Everybody's been contributing," Smarr, who achieved his 800th career coaching win on Friday, said. "It's a good group of guys, in terms of being ready to play. There were a couple places in the Iowa match where they could have beaten us 4-3 [or] 5-2. We just got the right points."
Returning to the courts Saturday, Rice stumbled out of the gate against Middle Tennessee State. After Wang and junior Tobias Scheil - who had been battling foot problems of his own - dropped the doubles match at No. 2, Müller and senior Filip Zivojinovic earned a gritty 8-6 win. Rosa and Polyakov then pushed Joao Paoliello and Chris Nowak to a tiebreaker, where the Owl tandem prevailed 7-4.
Singles proved far easier for Rice, as Scheil, Zivojinovic and Rosa swept away the competition in straight sets to seal another team win.
As the final day of the Invite dawned, Rice needed a win against San Diego to cement the championship. The early doubles results resembled the previous day's action: After Müller and Zivojinovic dropped the first doubles match, the remaining Owl duos gutted out wins for an early lead.
Müller bounced back with a win at No. 2 to stretch Rice's advantage to 2-0, and Polyakov's win at No. 5 quickly placed the Owls within a point of victory. But San Diego's Chris Coetzee downed Wang in straight sets to get the Toreros on the board, and, despite taking the opening frame, Zivojinovic fell at No. 4 to reduce Rice's lead to a single point.
But Rosa once again picked his team up when it needed him, defeating No. 45 Thomas Liversage in three sets and securing a 4-2 win. For his strong play, Rosa was named C-USA Player of the Week for the third time this season.
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