Men's tennis adds to heartbreak with 4-3 loss to Tulane

By Dan Elledge     4/10/13 7:00pm

The Owls suffered another tough 4-3 loss, this time at the hands of Conference USA rival Tulane University last Sunday. With the defeat, they dropped to 9-12 for the year. With Rice now guaranteed to have a losing regular season, the only chance for a trip to the NCAA tournament will be through winning the C-USA tournament. 

Head Coach Efe Ustundag said he continues to see the same things that have led to some of the team's close defeats. Ustundag said he feels the team has not shown the same confidence during the last few weeks and that confidence will be key to the team's success.

"At times, we talk about a lack of confidence," Ustundag said. "You have to trust the work you have done on the court, trust your years of experience and trust your ability to strike a ball. Once you have doubts about that, there is not much you can do. You have to go out there and execute."

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Senior Jonathan Chang said the team showed a lack of confidence when it mattered most. Chang said this mentality has to change, especially since the conference tournament is around the corner.

"Most importantly, the coaches emphasized confidence," Chang said. "We were not always confident with our shots. We were not aggressive, and we let Tulane take it from us. The biggest thing is confidence and also to perfect our shots going into the tournament."

Ustundag said he feels that, even with such a young team, confidence issues have  affected seniors and freshmen alike.

"The problem with confidence has nothing to do with age," Ustundag said. "It could be a particular stroke or match play. It is not a matter of something that can be classified to age or a certain style of game."

Ustundag said changing the team's mindset will help to improve their confidence.

"We have to keep the negativity outside of the tennis courts," Ustundag said. "We have to be there to do a positive job, no negative comments or attitudes. If we let those thoughts linger or become vocalized, we won't be able to practice as well, and we might be in a scenario during the tournament where the team is not confident."

To wind up the regular season, the Owls will remain at Jake Hess Stadium and play a doubleheader against Prairie View A&M University and conference rival Southern Methodist University. Last season, Rice took two 4-3 matches against SMU: one on the road and the other in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament. 

Chang said he does not see this year being any different, but  he expects a narrow victory.

"With SMU, it always seems to go to 4-3," Chang said. "They are strong at some spots and weak at others, and if we can capitalize against some of their players, we should be able to come out with a win."

Ustundag could not agree more since these two matches are important as a lead-up to the C-USA tournament. He said all six players have to show up consistently throughout the next couple of weeks if the Owls expect to run the table and land a trip to the NCAA tournament.

"If six guys come together and play hard, we can make good things happen," Ustundag said. "If 75 percent of the guys come out, we are not talented enough to beat a good team with partial effort. If all six come out, we can inflict some damage, and hopefully, this will work out for the conference tournament next week."

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