Rice to host C-USA women's tennis tourney this weekend

By Prem Ramkumar     4/16/09 7:00pm

Sometimes, being average is not that bad. The women's tennis team finished their season with an 11-11 record off a dominant 7-0 win over Northwestern State University, rebounding from a close 5-2 loss against Conference USA favorites Southern Methodist University. SMU, ranked twenty-second, proved to be too much on Senior Day, which saw Rice honor its sole senior, and once walk-on athlete, Emily Braid on Friday. Braid helped the Owls to 70 wins in singles and doubles during her career. Braid started at the sixth spot but fell in straight sets, and closed out her Rice career with a fiery 6-2, 6-4 win against Northwestern State.

"I took a risk coming to Rice, not sure if I had the talent to play with these girls, but it all turned around when I felt the rush of winning the deciding match against the University of Tulsa," Braid said, describing Rice's C-USA Championship final in 2007. "I then knew I was meant to be here. What made my years at Rice unforgettable, however, was the strong bond I created with my teammates. We went through everything together and had an amazing time."

After splitting the first two doubles matches, the Owls were poised to take the doubles point, up 7-3 at the third spot. However, the Mustangs showed why they are a top-25 team and rallied back to a 9-7 win.

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After Braid's loss, freshman Alex Rasch followed up with a straight-set defeat of her own. Junior Julie Chao lost a hard-fought battle against hard-hitting Marta Lesniak 6-2, 6-3.

The two matches the Owls pulled out came from their two redshirt sophomores, Rebekka H?nle, who won 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (5), and Jessica Jackson, who won 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (5). Freshman Ana Guzman stormed back from a 5-2 first set deficit to win 7-6 (8) only to lose the following set 6-4 and tiebreaker 12-10.

Though Rice did not come out with a victory, the team was encouraged that they stuck close to one of the best squads in the nation.

"Once again, it was a close loss for us," Head Coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "I'm proud of the way the girls went out and fought, but we just didn't win the big points. All that we need to do is focus on closing out our season on a high note tomorrow."

Fortunately, they were able to end the season on a high note by bouncing back in less than 24 hours for a 9 a.m. match against unranked Northwestern State.

The Owls showed no signs of struggle, winning all six singles matches in straight sets and closing out all three doubles contests easily.

"We played really well," Jackson said. "Northwestern State was a really good team, and today we just had a really good day on the court. I'm really happy about how we played as a team."

The final two matchups of the season highlighted the Owls' inexperience and youth, but showed that these characteristics do not necessarily translate into a weak squad.

Nevertheless, the young team has fallen victim to repeatedly finishing on the wrong end of close matches, a characteristic that will have to change if they are to make an impact in the conference tournament.

Schmidt, in her first year at the helm, has focused on encouraging the team to play the big points without trepidation, but the team and staff are confident that this aspect of the game develops with maturity. Fortunately, the team is very young and very resilient, following heartbreaking losses with crushing wins. Even though the women have lost seven in their past ten matches, the conference tournament will allow them to start afresh.

Certainly, there is no time like the present for the Owls, as they are playing host this year at the C-USA Tournament. Rice, seeded fifth, started off the tournament playing No. 12 University of Southern Mississippi. A win in the tournament would be ample redemption for falling short of their regular season goal and could propel the Owls into more heated national play.

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