Female tennis star, Beazant enjoys life both on and off the court

By Ian Chiang     4/10/13 7:00pm

With the women's tennis regular season coming to an end tomorrow, the Rice Owls' record stands at 16-4 following an 11-game winning streak. The hard work and perseverance the team has invested this season has led it to be ranked as high as No. 20 in the nation. As the team rides an 11-game winning streak and looks to carry the momentum into the post-season, one player has majorly contributed to the team's success. 

Sophomore Natalie Beazant has won 13 straight singles matches, and her 13-match winning streak with doubles partner Dominique Harmath, a junior, only recently ended. Beazant is ranked No. 62 in the nation for singles and No. 17 for doubles with Harmath. 

Beazant said she has been satisfied with the season up this point. She said all of the hard work in practice and wins against elite opponents are preparing the Owls for the NCAA tournament.

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"I would say that so far, the season is going well," Beazant said. "The team has had some really tough matches recently that we have pulled through and battled to get the wins. That's what it takes to keep moving up the rankings and give ourselves the opportunity to go deeper into NCAAs. We have been doing a really good job of focusing on just one match at a time." 

Beazant said the team's great performance on the tennis court during games can be attributed to the diligence and attention to detail the players have during practices.

"Tennis is something that is quite repetitive," Beazant said. "We tend to do a lot of different drills to make sure the consistency is still there." 

Beazant said she, like many other athletes, has various methods to help her stay focused for the game and to ensure she plays to the best of her ability.

"Before I play a match, I just like to make sure that my head is in the right place and that I am focusing on the right things and the job that I have ahead of me," Beazant said. "Every match is different, and I just try to make sure that I focus on one match at a time and take each match as it comes." 

Beazant's doubles play with Harmath has also been an integral part to the team's run into the postseason. The chemistry the two have developed has won them a place among the top 20 tandems in the nation. 

"[Harmath and I] seem to work really well together on the court," Beazant said. "When one of us is struggling, the other one is there and offers the reassurance that we sometimes need. The fact that we have played together for two years now means that we understand each other pretty well." 

Beazant, who is a sport management major and a business minor, said Rice is a great institution for her and other student-athletes to find success both on and off the court. 

"I really like the fact that Rice is such a friendly place," Beazant said. "I feel like the professors here are really helpful and accommodating to the fact that we sometimes have really busy schedules due to the fact that we have to go out of town to compete." 

Besides tennis, Beazant said she also enjoys other sports, specifically soccer.

"Of course, being from England, I'm into soccer, so I like to try and follow my team from back home, Bolton Wanderers (not Manchester United!)."

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