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Prem Ramkumar

NEWS 5/14/09 7:00pm

Semifinal finish pushes women to winning record

By Prem Ramkumar

In a season that was consistently middling, it makes sense that the women's tennis team was bounced from the Conference USA Tournament in the middle of competition. Despite home court advantage, the fifth-seeded Owls finished their season with a 13-12 record after being bounced in the semifinals to Southern Methodist University after impressive wins against the University of Southern Mississippi and fourth-seeded University of Houston. On April 16, junior Rebekka H?nle, senior Rebecca Lin and sophomore Alex Rasch steered the Owls to a 4-0 sweep with wins in singles against the Golden Eagles in the tournament's opening round. H?nle won her eighth straight match 6-1, 6-0. Lin closed out her match 6-3, 6-1 while Rasch finished third with a 6-4, 6-1 win - much to the disappointment of junior Jessica Jackson, who was racing Rasch for the clinching point after going up 6-1, 4-1.

NEWS 4/16/09 7:00pm

Rice to host C-USA women's tennis tourney this weekend

By Prem Ramkumar

Sometimes, being average is not that bad. The women's tennis team finished their season with an 11-11 record off a dominant 7-0 win over Northwestern State University, rebounding from a close 5-2 loss against Conference USA favorites Southern Methodist University. SMU, ranked twenty-second, proved to be too much on Senior Day, which saw Rice honor its sole senior, and once walk-on athlete, Emily Braid on Friday. Braid helped the Owls to 70 wins in singles and doubles during her career. Braid started at the sixth spot but fell in straight sets, and closed out her Rice career with a fiery 6-2, 6-4 win against Northwestern State.

NEWS 4/9/09 7:00pm

Losses drop women's tennis' winning record

By Prem Ramkumar

The women's tennis team, it appears, cannot catch a break. Despite breaking their four-match losing streak against University of Texas-Pan American with a 7-0 sweep, the Owls began another losing streak against formidable opponents University of Tulsa and University of North Texas, running their record to 10-11. On March 27, Rice faced off against unranked UTPA, which had lost 7-0 against Lamar only a day earlier. Coming off a pair of 4-3 losses to the University of Louisville and the University of South Alabama, the Owls desperately needed a convincing victory against this less-talented squad to start fresh and put the past behind them.

NEWS 3/26/09 7:00pm

South Alabama brings women's tennis trouble

By Prem Ramkumar

On the road or back at home-not-so-sweet-home, the women's tennis team is struggling to win these days. With their second consecutive 4-3 loss, their fourth defeat in a row, the Owls fell both to the University of South Alabama and out of the rankings. Scheduled to play at 3 p.m. on the Saturday of Beer Bike, the match was delayed for over an hour due to the men's ongoing match against Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Beginning at 4:15 p.m., the delay caused the players to start doubles alongside the men's match play. The match lasted nearly six hours before the Lady Jags ground out a victory at Rice's expense. On the bright side, though, the men were victorious in a 4-3 match.

NEWS 3/19/09 7:00pm

Commentary: In Kobe vs. LeBron, the final verdict reads...

By Prem Ramkumar

When I told my friends about writing a column to determine the best player in the NBA, they all threatened to write letters to the Thresher office to complain about my tremendous bias. True, I am a diehard Lakers fan; I was born and raised in Los Angeles. However, I am first and foremost an NBA fan, so I would rather be true to the game by making an unbiased assessment of the basketball titans of today. The argument boils down to LeBron James, a.k.a. "The Chosen One," and Kobe Bryant, a.k.a. "Black Mamba." (Sorry D-Wade, but you've fallen down more times than you've gotten up.)

NEWS 3/19/09 7:00pm

Women falter against Louisville

By Prem Ramkumar

Last Saturday, the 73rd-ranked women's tennis team fell 9-7 to the unranked University of Louisville on the road at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville, Ky. Tough times have befallen Rice, as the team will most likely lose its ranking and fall far short of its goal of reaching top 40 in the national rankings as a result of its current three-match losing streak. The Owls dropped their three doubles matches, including an 8-1 loss by junior Julie Chao and freshman Ana Guzman, a close 9-8 (7-4) loss by sophomore Jessica Jackson and junior Rebecca Lin and an 8-6 loss by sophomore Rebekka H?nle and freshman Alex Rasch. On a season that has seemed to always hinge on who wins the doubles point, this match was no different. Doubles has long been the team's focal point in practice, but the practice has been to little avail. The lack of aggressiveness, desire to be on the court and overall energy concern Head Coach Elizabeth Schmidt.

NEWS 3/12/09 7:00pm

Midwest trip challenges women

By Prem Ramkumar

The women's tennis team did not kick off its spring break the way it hoped, falling victim to two heartbreaking losses to beatable teams in Western Michigan University and Ohio State University. Instead of giving their ranking a much needed boost, the Owls dropped to 9-6 on the year. The losses may have had something to do with the locales because instead of soaking up the spring break sun on the beaches, the women suffered through freezing temperatures in Kalamazoo, Mich. The unranked Owls froze against the 61st-ranked Broncos, falling 4-3 in a close match that highlighted their weaknesses in doubles and inexperience with close matches as their youngest players, sophomore Jessica Jackson and freshman Alex Rasch, each fell.

NEWS 2/26/09 6:00pm

Women deliver rout at home after road struggles

By Prem Ramkumar

While the Seattle, Wash., rain was washing away the women's tennis team's chances at good weather, the competition was washing away Rice's chances at a successful road swing. The 75th-ranked Owls fell to 8-4 this past weekend at the Nordstrom Tennis Center after a pair of losses against then-40th-ranked Sacramento State and then-34th-ranked University of Washington. Sacramento State, undefeated on the year, came into the match with momentum after pulling off an upset against Washington the day before. With a dastardly combination of experience and talent, the Hornets took it to the Owls in a 5-2 decision. Junior Julie Chao and freshman Alex Rasch managed to secure the only two points of the match with straight-set wins over Aileen Tsan and Joyce Martinez, respectively.

NEWS 2/19/09 6:00pm

Tennis earns mixed results in Lubbock

By Prem Ramkumar

It looks like the women's tennis team is finding some resolve. The Owls traveled to the McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock, Tex., last weekend, where they lost a back-and-forth battle with the University of Arizona 4-3 before showcasing their rebound power with a 5-2 route of Texas Tech University. The team is now 8-2 on the year.After a slate of marshmallow opponents and easy home matches, last weekend's lineup was perhaps the toughest three-day stretch the Owls will have during the regular season.

NEWS 2/12/09 6:00pm

Women's tennis sweeps week's competition

By Prem Ramkumar

The women's tennis team continued their fantastic play by managing to win every single point in their last two matches against Louisiana-Lafayette and Prairie View. Because of rare showers in California this past weekend, the team postponed their trip to 60th ranked St. Mary's and 15th ranked Fresno State. Fortunately, first year head coach Elizabeth Schmidt was able to quickly schedule a match against Louisiana-Lafayette last Saturday.

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