Owls split matches with Islanders, Longhorns to begin spring season

By Chris Pettijohn     1/28/10 6:00pm

The women's tennis team discovered last weekend that the University of Texas is not just talented at football; they know something about serving aces as well. The Owls (1-1) managed to get one point on the board, but their play was not nearly enough to take down the 31st-ranked Longhorns (1-0), who took the weekend match 6-1. Before the team faced off with Texas, however, it began its spring season with a win against Texas A&M Corpus Christi last Wednesday. Due to poor weather conditions, the team could not play its season opener on campus at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium, and, at the last minute, had to move its match to the indoor courts at the Galleria. But the sudden change of venue did not throw the Owls off their game, and they ended up on the winning side of a 6-1 decision.

Of the six singles players, five breezed past their opponent with no player losing more than three games in a set and each winning in straight sets. Junior Rebekka H?nle started the contest off on a high note, easily winning her No. 1 singles match in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.

H?nle was not alone in her singles success, as four other Owls took their matches in similar fashion: Lin (6-2, 6-1), sophomore Ana Guzman (6-1, 6-1), junior Jessica Jackson (6-1, 6-3) and sophomore Alex Rasch (6-1, 6-0). While senior Julie Chao dropped a close three-set match, she helped the team put up points by winning her doubles match with Guzman 8-1. Jackson and junior Varsha Shiva-Shankar also won their doubles match 8-2, and Lin and H?nle took the finals doubles match-up 8-0. Impressively, Rice's doubles teams won all of their matches decisively, collectively losing only three games out of a total 24.

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Though the team encountered little difficulty with the match, Head Coach Elizabeth Schmidt saw that TAMU-CC (0-1) still showed resistance whenever possible.

"We were pushed, and when we were pushed we responded to the challenge," Schmidt said.

Three days later, the Longhorns had no trouble pushing the Owls. Unfortunately, the team could not respond as resoundingly as they did against the Islanders. The team's only point came from Jackson, who upset the number 59th-ranked Vanja Corovic. Jackson's win marked the second time in as many tries she has defeated Corovic, keeping Jackson's perfect record against Texas intact.

While Rice - which will face Texas State University at the Galleria Tennis & Athletic Club tomorrow - dropped six points, the scoreboard did not reflect the team's play. Chao took 27th-ranked Krista Damico to three sets, winning the second set 6-4 before falling in the final frame. Also, the tandem of Chao and Guzman defeated Texas' 22nd-ranked doubles team of Damico and Amanda Craddock. However, to earn the doubles point, Rice needed to win two out of three matches, and thus received no boost on the scoreboard from the win.

The reason for the loss stems from a combination of tough completion and poor weather conditions. The team faced tougher competition from the Longhorns than from TAMU-CC, as Texas fielded three nationally-ranked players. In addition, both teams faced strong winds during the match, which brought about mistakes from both sides.

Schmidt described the effect of the wind on the team, which came at unexpected and inopportune times.

"The ball would be right in front of you and then it would just shoot to the right real quick," Schmidt said.

Schmidt decided to schedule the match against Texas toward the beginning of the season to provide an early test for her team.

"I think we learned a lot from this match, and it was a good measuring stick for us," the coach said.

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