Men's tennis hopes for rebound at Rice-hosted Jake Hess

By Dan Elledge     1/23/13 6:00pm

With the early start to a Texas spring, it was time for the men to tidy up their serves and perfect their strokes. The 2013 men's tennis season got underway last Saturday at Jake Hess Stadium.

The Owls were tested early in the schedule, with their first two dual matches of the new year against Texas Tech University and Mississippi State University, ranked 29th and 11th respectively in the initial Division I Men's Tennis rankings. Rice fought valiantly against the Red Raiders, looking for an opening win for new Head Coach Efe Ustundag, but could not come up with the crucial points when needed it to and dropped the match 3-4. Playing Mississippi State two days later did not help the cause, as the Bulldogs came out biting at the chance to shut out the Owls. According to Ustundag, the Owls played more as a team, but that did not help the scoreline as Rice dropped a 1-6 decision.

The Owls are hoping to rebound at Jake Hess this weekend as they host Lamar University and the University of Texas, Pan-American University. With a 0-2 start, Ustundag knows the team cannot get too discouraged, since there is a long season ahead of it. He said its their strong performance last week against stout teams should give the Owls confidence in the weeks to come.

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"We fought well against some formidable opponents and came together as a unit," Ustundag said. "Most of the matches last weekend were close, so that should give them the belief that t hey belong on the same court as other elite players."

Senior Jonathan Chang said he completely understood that the mindset had to stay positive. If the team stopped believing, then this early slump could turn to a season-long struggle, he said.

"Ultimately, we need to stay positive and reflect on the little details that we need to work on during practice to stay at the top of our game," Chang said.

If Ustundag was not worried about the team's health last season, he will be now. With only eight players on the team (instead of the normal 10) and six starting spots, there will be constant rotations, as players need to get rest in between matches.

Ustundag knows that the team's health will play a vital role in the type of season the Owls have. "We have to stay healthy with an eight man squad - got to make sure the team is fresh going into matches," Ustundag said. The Owls host Lamar and Texas Pan Am Sunday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. respectively. Rice has had success against Lamar in the past, winning 7-0 both of the last two seasons. However, Ustundag was quick to point out that neither team should be overlooked because they are unranked. In his opinion, the Owls need to play at a high level to make sure they take care of both of these squads. "Lamar has improved from last year, as they have more experienced players at the top of their lineup," Ustundag said, "The main challenge is going to be can we play at that high level. If we think of them as an unranked team, we could lose."

Chang said he understands bouncing back this weekend is important and that Lamar and Texas Pan Am should not be overlooked. He knows the talent is there and that a little extra practice will start to lead to results on the court.

Working together as a team is the key attribute.

"Overall, we just need to keep the energy up both in practice and in matches, Chang said. "The talent and ability is there. We just need to work on encouraging each other to stay focused, and [to] trust your strokes and your teammates."

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