Showdown with #38 TCU on Sunday
The 36th ranked Rice women’s tennis team prepped for their showdown with #38 TCU on Sunday by taking a 6-0 victory over SMU at the Northwood Country Club in Dallas on Saturday afternoon.
With the Mustangs short-handed with only five available players, the match order was reversed to begin with singles and the Owls holding a 1-0 lead after a default at the sixth position. The Owls took four of five matches in straight sets, highlighted by Natalie Beazant’s 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 1 over SMU’s Edyta Cieplucha. Beazant, currently ranked 46th in singles, avenged a loss to the 56th ranked Cieplucha in the fall. Dominique Harmath bounced back from a first set loss to close the match with a win in the Super Tiebreaker at the second position.
Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt was pleased that her team was able to maintain its focus despite the change in the format.
“Our team did a nice job taking care of business today,” Schmidt said. “It’s great for Natalie (Beazant) to a get a win against a player who had beaten her in the fall. We are looking forward to a tough match tomorrow against TCU.”
The win improved the Owls’ record to 14-6, the third time in her first four years that Schmidt has led the Owls to 14 wins. Her first shot at a career-best win total will come on Sunday afternoon when Rice takes on 38th ranked TCU at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Ft. Worth in the wrap up to the 2012 regular season.
The Owls will travel to Memphis next weekend for the Conference USA Women’s Tennis Championship.
Tennis Match Results
Rice vs SMU Mustangs
4/14/2012 at Dallas, Texas
(Northwood Country Club)
#36 Rice 6, SMU Mustangs 0
Singles competition
1. #46 Natalie Beazant (RICE) def. #56 Edyta Cieplucha (SMU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Dominique Harmath (RICE) def. Ashley Turpin (SMU) 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8)
3. Katie Gater (RICE) def. Kristina Roberts (SMU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Ana Guzman (RICE) def. Perri Anderson (SMU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Kimberly Anicete (RICE) def. Erika Marschall (SMU) 6-0, 6-1
6. Leah Fried (RICE) def. No player (SMU), by default
No doubles competition
Match Notes:
Rice 14-6; National ranking #36
SMU Mustangs 1-15
Order of finish: Singles (6,5,4,1,3,2)