Rice - Fall 2003:
Opened the fall season with three-straight singles wins... Finished with an 8-6 mark... Opened the ITA Southwest Regional Championships with a victory, then notched two more wins in the consolation draw.
2002-03: Tied for second on the team with her 19 singles victories, matching Blair DiSesa’s record of 19-15... Defeated Boise State’s Alyssa Ayling 6-4, 7-6 (7) to break a 3-3 tie and secure the Owls’ first-round upset of the Broncos at the WAC Championships... Played primarily in the four position during dual-match action, winning 10 matches... Also second in doubles victories with 13 victories... Notched a 7-4 singles mark in the fall, winning four of her last five matches... Defeated the former number-one 16-and-under player in the nation, Texas’ Macey Breece, 6-4, 7-5, in the first round of the ITA Southwest Championships... Recorded a pair of straight-set victories in consolation action at the regional tournament, defeating Texas A&M’s Seva Iwinski and Arkansas’ Iliana Pacheco.
2001-02: Finished the year with 17 singles victories... Stepped up her play in dual match action as she went 10-7 in singles with an 8-3 mark at the number six position for the team’s best winning percentage... At the WAC tournament, battled back for a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 victory against Boise State’s Alyssa Ayling in her final match of the season... Formed a potent team with Natalie Briaud in the spring, finishing 13-3 in doubles, playing primarily at the three position, and winning all three tiebreakers... In the fall, recorded a 7-7 singles tournament play record, losing in the consolation finals in Flight Two of the Harvard Invitational and tallying a win in the first round of the ITA Southwest Regional Tournament... In doubles action with Erika Villalobos, recovered from a tough loss in the first round of the regional tournament to win the next three matches and make it to the final round of the consolation bracket... The pair recorded a 5-5 record for the fall.
2000-01: Had a tremendous start to her first collegiate season, going 19-7 to compile the best overall singles record for the team... Had a six-match winning streak, capped off by claiming the Flight C singles title in the Rice Tennis Classic... Went a combined 9-7 in dual match doubles play, with a 3-1 record while playing at the number two spot with Briaud.
High School: A 2000 graduate of Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Louisiana... Was a four-time letterwinner and four-year starter for the Bulldogs under coach Fred Aldrich... Posted a 16-2 singles record her senior year... Claimed a Louisiana Class 4A state singles title and was a runner-up... Team finished as state runner-up... Qualified for nationals... Was voted most likely to succeed and was an AP Honor Scholar... Was a member of Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta and Student Government Association.
Personal: Full Name: Karen Chao. Birthdate: June 26, 1982, at Erie, Pa. Parents: Andy and Li-chen Chao of Baton Rouge, La. (two sisters). College: Sid Richardson.