March 5, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M women's tennis team won its fourth consecutive match and remained undefeated at home, overcoming blustery conditions to defeat No. 48 Rice, 7-0, today at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
The score was much closer than it appeared with five of the six singles matches being decided in three sets, including four matches in which A&M came from behind after dropping the first set.
"Rice had an excellent team and competed to the end, but I'm really proud of our girls for not getting worried or nervous and for stepping up and taking charge," A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said. "That was a good college match except for the wind. That was the only downer and it did change some game plans, but I thought both teams handled it as well as they could."
A&M improved to 5-2 overall - all against ranked opponents -- and 4-0 in home matches. Rice, playing its sixth consecutive road match, drops to 8-6.
A&M won its fourth consecutive doubles point to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Stephanie Davidson (Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas) and partner Christi Potgieter (Petrusville, South Africa) gave the Aggies the early edge, winning their fifth consecutive match by defeating Jessica Jackson and Daniella Trigo, 8-3, at the No. 3 line.
It was the sixth straight doubles win overall for Davidson, who moves into a tie for eighth in the A&M all-time records with 86 career victories. Meanwhile it was only the second loss for Jackson and Trigo, who fall to 10-2.
Morgan Frank (Oldsmar, Fla.) and Nazari Urbina (Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico) improved to 5-0 at the No. 2 line, jumping out to a 4-0 lead and cruising to an 8-1 victory over Dominique Harmath and Alex Rasch to clinch the doubles point for A&M.
The Owls earned a win at the No. 1 line to prevent a doubles sweep by the Aggies. Ana Guzman and Rebekka Hänle overcame a 4-2 deficit against 69th-ranked Janelle Cuthbertson (Perth, Australia) and Christi Liles (Largo, Fla.) to win, 8-6.
Things got interesting in singles as Rice won the first set on four courts, and five of the six matches would go three sets. Davidson was the only player to win in straight sets, giving the Aggies a 2-0 lead with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Kimberly Anicete at the No. 6 line.
Cuthbertson had raced to a 6-0 first set win against Trigo at No. 5, but fell 6-4 in the second set. Leading 3-2 in the third set, Cuthbertson reeled off three consecutive games to get the win and put the Aggies ahead, 3-0.
Potgieter then clinched the win for A&M after rebounding from a 6-4 opening set loss to Guzman at No. 4. Potgieter won five consecutive games to close out a 6-1 second-set win and then overcame a 3-1 deficit in the third set by once again winning five straight games to complete the come-from-behind win and secure the victory for A&M.
"This was the closest 7-0 match I've seen, but Stephanie winning in straight sets was a big turning point for us and took a lot of pressure off of the girls, as did Christi Potgieter by winning the second set really quick," Kleinecke said. "With 4, 5 and 6 coming through with the first wins off the court, those were keys for us. That allowed 1, 2 and 3, who were all trailing at that point, to relax and hit their shots."
Frank had struggled against Harmath at the No. 2 line, falling 6-4 in the first set. Frank also fell behind 5-3 in the second set but came back to win 7-5 to force the third set. Harmath, who was riding a four-match winning streak, took a 3-1 lead in the final frame before Frank won five consecutive games to close out the match and extend her winning streak to four and also put the Aggies ahead, 5-0.
Urbina, ranked No. 19 in singles, won her sixth consecutive match, coming from behind to defeat No. 101 Hänle, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, at the top of the lineup, and Liles completed the shutout and won her fourth match in a row with a 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4 win against Jackson at the No. 3 line.
"This is the best Rice team we have seen in awhile," Kleinecke said. "They believed in themselves, and they are a tough team. They've had a good season so far and have come away with some close matches and some good wins, so this win gives us more confidence as we move forward."
The Aggies conclude a six-match home stand Wednesday, March 9 when they play host to Wake Forest. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
"We've got to be ready to go. We are not good enough to take anyone lightly," Kleinecke said. "I know that Wake Forest has played a tough schedule so far, and this is going to be a tough team. We are going to have to play well to get the win."
The match against the Demon Deacons is A&M's final tune-up before opening Big 12 Conference play in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown at rival Texas on Saturday, March 12. The match against the Longhorns begins at noon at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin.
No. 32 Texas A&M 7, No. 48 Rice 0
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
Attendance: 338
Singles
1. (#19) Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. (#101) Rebekka Hänle (RU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. Morgan Frank (TAMU) def. Dominique Harmath (RU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. Christi Liles (TAMU) def. Jessica Jackson (RU), 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4
4. Christi Potgieter (TAMU) def. Ana Guzman (RU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. Janelle Cuthbertson (TAMU) def. Daniella Trigo (RU), 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
6. Stephanie Davidson (TAMU) def. Kimberly Anicete (RU), 7-5, 6-2
Doubles (A&M wins the point)
1. Guzman/Hänle (RU) def. (#69) Cuthbertson/Liles (TAMU), 8-6
2. Frank/Urbina (TAMU) def. Harmath/Alex Rasch (RU), 8-1
3. Davidson/Potgieter (TAMU) def. Jackson/Trigo (RU), 8-3
Order of finish:
Doubles: 3, 2, 1
Singles: 6, 5, 4*, 2, 1, 3
*-clinched match
Team records:
Texas A&M: (5-2)
Rice: (8-6)
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