HUNTSVILLE – Rice, ranked No. 50 in the nation, had to win a trio of 3-set matches to hold off the Sam Houston Bearkats in a 6-0 win on Saturday at the Beckner Tennis Center.
"I was really proud of the fight our youngsters brought today," Sam Houston head coach Rob Hubbard said. "Rice is always a tough opponent and our players weren't afraid to play them today. Last year Rice ran over us pretty good, but I'm happy with how we performed today."
After losing the doubles point to open the match, the Bearkats (1-1) extended three of their singles matches to three sets in singles.
"With a young team like ours you it's encouraging to see how they come back in singles after losing the doubles point," Hubbard said. "They came back pumped up and three of our matches went three sets.
Nayuma Subba took Darya Schwartzman to three in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 contest in the No. 1 singles spot. Christine Jevicky went three with Divna Ratkovic in a 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 duel at No. 2 and Sara Sadadinovic was the last Bearkat to finish her singles match as she fell to Saara Orav in a 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 battle.
The Owls' (1-0) victory over the Kats evened Sam Houston's season record to 1-1.
The next action for the Sam Houston women's tennis team comes with another home match on Saturday, February 1 vs LSU Shreveport.
No. 50 Rice 6, Sam Houston 0
Singles competition
1. Darya Schwartzman (RICE) def. Nayuma Subba (SHSU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Divna Ratkovic (RICE) def. Christine Jevicky (SHSU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-0
3. Nithesa Selvaraj (RICE) def. Jacqueline Scnabel (SHSU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Allison Zipoli (RICE) vs. Aaliyah Hohmann (SHSU) no result
5. Francesca Maguina (RICE) def. AdithiVenkatakrishna (SHSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Saara Orav (RICE) def. Sara Sadadinovic (SHSU) 6-1, 1-6, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Fernanda Martinez/Darya Schwartzman (RICE) def. Jacqueline Scnabel/Nayuma Subba (SHSU) 6-2
2. Divna Ratkovic/Nithesa Selvaraj (RICE) def. Christine Jevicky/AdithiVenkatakrishna (SHSU) 6-1
3. Francesca Maguina/Valentina Ponce (RICE) vs. Aaliyah Hohmann/Sara Sadadinovic (SHSU) no result
