ABOUT THE OWLS
Rice comes into the Barbara Wallace Winston Tennis Facility on Friday with a 12-7 record, defeating Florida International University in their last match, 4-0. Sophomore Michaela Haet leads the team at Flight 1 in singles, while Priya Niezgoda and Anastasia Smirnov take the first court in doubles.
Not sure what happened, but it looks like play was suspended at some point yesterday during singles action. Looks like Rice took the doubles point based on what was online.
In doubles, junior Ndindi Ndunda and freshman Sophie Geritsdropped the match at Court 2, falling to Victoria Smirnova and Priya Niezgoda, 6-1. To clinch the first point of the day, the Owls were able to snatch the win at Flight 1 from junior Mimi Kendall-Woseley and freshman Elena Tairyan, 6-3.
Moving into the singles, the Cougars struggled to close the first sets. The second point for the Owls came from Victoria Smirnova, who defeated Ndunda on Court 2, 6-0, 6-1. Next, freshman Jovana Vukovic dropped the third point at Flight 3, 6-4, 6-4. While Gerits won the first set at Court 3, junior PhonexayChitdara lost her match in a tough loss against Anna Bowtell, 6-3, 6-3. The Owls clinched the match on Court 5, topping the Cougars, 4-0.