Kats return to action, head to Rice Invite
9/22/2016 11:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
HUNTSVILLE -- The Sam Houston State tennis squad heads to the Rice Invitational on Friday for the three-day event and the second fall tournament. The all-day event will take place at the Owls' George R. Brown Tennis Center.
A weekend ago, the squad advanced three players into the singles quarterfinals including Fabienne Gettwart who advances to the semis. In doubles action, Carrie Casey and Mila Milanovic earned their way into the semifinals.
“The ladies did exactly what I asked them to do,” head coach Rob Hubbard said. “They are trying to implement the strategy we want to use for doubles and singles. They maxed out their effort so you can't ask for anything else. They did a good job in the doubles. One team was extremely close to making the finals.”
Gettwart, who notched wins against UTSA's Laura Cabrera and teammate Erna Barkovic, eventually bowed out in the semifinals, falling to the Islanders' Judit Vives in a tight match, coming up one victory shy of a finals appearance.
Khee Yen Wee advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Maria Maldonado. Wee defeated UTSA's Charleen Tiwari in straight sets in the opener before downing Lamar's Hanna Elfving.
“There will a couple teams we saw this past weekend,” Hubbard said of the Rice Invite. “The idea is for them to be focused. We'll continue to improve. It could be in the results and someone's game is improving and they ran into a difficult player, depending on the draw. We aren't worried about the other teams. It's all about what they need to work on.”
The squad closes out team play the following weekend at the SMU Invitational. For more on the program, visit GoBearkats.com and follow @BearkatsWTEN on Twitter.
“Since Day 1, they have maxed out their effort,” Hubbard said. “They continue to show the hard work they put in. It wasn't a surprise. It was a pleasant development to watch them keep their effort level up. We all know that's what we're working for in the spring.”
