Men's tennis loses to Texas Tech and Mississippi State
The men's tennis team lost both of its matches over the weekend, losing 5-2 to Mississippi State University and 4-2 to Texas Tech University. Rice will stay on the road with matchups against Northwestern University and Cornell University this weekend, both away games in Evanston, Ill.
On Friday, the Owls played the Bulldogs without freshman Max Andrews, who usually plays in the third spot. He sat out for both matches last weekend. Freshman David Warren and sophomore Tommy Bennett picked up Rice's two singles points in this matchup.
On Sunday, Rice again scored only two points with singles victories from freshman Zach Yablon and sophomore Adam Gustafsson. The singles matches were played first, making the doubles point unnecessary after the Red Raiders secured four points.
Head Coach Efe Ustundag said the team played some inspiring tennis on the road, which made its trip to Lubbock worthwhile.
"What I really took away from this road trip was knowing that on any day of the week, we can play with some of the best teams in the nation," Ustundag said. "We are capable of beating ranked players, and compared to both opponents, we showed more team spirit and support."
However, Ustundag said this still did not erase the two losses from the Owls' memory.
"At the same time, we have to do a better job of playing well in back-to-back matches individually," Ustundag said. "I feel like we have yet to play a match where all six guys play at their best. When that comes together, we will start defeating nationally ranked teams."
Yablon said the team needs to forget about this weekend and focus on its trip to Illinois.
"We need to have short-term memory and take the positives away because just about everyone had their moments during either the match against Mississippi State [or] Texas Tech," Yablon said.
Yablon said everyone on the team needs to come together this weekend, focusing on mental and physical toughness in each match. He also believes the indoor conditions this weekend will greatly benefit the team.
"We really need to have everyone come together this weekend and have everyone put their best effort forward," Yablon said. "I believe that the indoor conditions will suit our team nicely, and if we can keep up the mental and physical toughness, then this coming weekend will bring us success."
The Owls face Northwestern on Friday, Feb. 7 and Cornell on Saturday, Feb. 8.
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