Rice University Team Page
For the second consecutive year, provided the clinching point to allow the Rice Owls to overcome the loss of the doubles point and advance to the second round of Stanford Regional at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium in Palo Alto, California on Friday.
After being both pretty tight and outplayed in doubles, we really showed our toughness by the way we responded in the singles," Rice head coach Elizabeth Schmidt said. "Everyone stepped up, believed in themselves, and fought for every point. We are extremely proud of the team for another hard-fought victory and are excited to play another match tomorrow."
With the win, the 22nd ranked Owls (21-4) move on to face the winner of the Stanford-Miami(OH) match on Saturday afternoon, looking to earn a repeat trip to the NCAA Sweet 16.
After trading service breaks through the first four games of the decided third set on Court 5, Anicete fought off multiple break points to hold serve at 3-2 and then quickly broke Michaela Capannolo's serve to extend the lead to 4-2 and go on to clinch the match with a 6-3 win. One year earlier, Anicete provided the final point in a 4-3 upset of Illinois to give Rice its first win in NCAA Women's Tennis play.
The Owls (21-4) were 0-3 this season in matches this season when losing the doubles point, but picked up wins by Natalie Beazant on Court 1 and Katie Gater on Court 4 to take a 2-1 lead. After Pepperdine tied it with a win at 3.
Beazant's win was her 16th consecutive to run her season record to 18-3, while Anicete won her eighth straight match to improve her record to 15-5
Rice freshman Solomiya Zinko used a late service break in the second set to win in straight sets on Court 6, turning the final outcome over to Anicete.
Tennis Match Results
Pepperdine vs. Rice
5/10/2013 at Palo Alto, CA
(Taube Family Tennis Stadium)
#22 Rice 3, #53 Pepperdine 3
Singles competition
1. #41 Natalie Beazant (RICE) def. #32 Lorraine Guillermo (PEPP) 6-2, 6-2
2. #72 Khunpak Issara (PEPP) def. #61 Dominique Harmath (RICE) 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-2
3. #96 Ale Granillo (PEPP) def. Liat Zimmermann (RICE) 6-3, 7-5
4. Katie Gater (RICE) def. Megan Moore (PEPP) 6-2, 6-2
5. Michaela Capannolo (PEPP) vs. Kimberly Anicete (RICE) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
6. Solomiya Zinko (RICE) def. Danielle Feneridis (PEPP) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #89 Khunpak Issara/Megan Moore (PEPP) def. #23 Natalie Beazant/Dominique Harmath (RICE) 8-6
2. Katie Gater/Liat Zimmermann (RICE) vs. Michaela Capannolo/Ale Granillo (PEPP) 6-5, unfinished
3. Lorraine Guillermo/Danielle Feneridis (PEPP) def. Daniela Trigo/Solomiya Zinko (RICE) 8-3
Match Notes:
Pepperdine 12-12; National ranking #53
Rice 21-4; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (3); Singles (1,4,3,6,2,5)
2013 NCAA Championships First Round
T-3:30
