Women's tennis loses close match to Arkansas

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by Jackie Brown

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The women's tennis team, ranked 38th nationally, had a close loss to the University of Arkansas this past Sunday. Arkansas, owners of the 40th ranking, defeated Rice five to four.

Junior Paula Myslivecek, the number-one player, defeated Maria Pavlidous 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. The win was an impressive one for Myslivecek. Pavlidous is ranked 39th indivually in the nation.

In the second singles bracket, junior Jessica Gagnon lost the first set 6-1 before coming back to win the next two sets 6-1, 6-2.

In similar fashion, freshman Jennifer Velasco had an impressive win over Kendra Howard 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Howard is ranked 76th nationally. Sophomore Vessie Ivanova, Rice's number-four player, had to retire in the beginning of the second set due to an injury. Brandi Brown from Arkansas defeated sophomore Erin Talton 6-0, 6-3. In the number-six position, Robin Juels of Arkansas defeated freshman Justyna Gudzowska 6-2, 6-4.

The doubles matches would prove to be the deciding factor in the outcome. All three Rice doubles teams had won their first sets, but only the number-two doubles team of senior Olga Limon and Ivanova won their match.

"They were a good team. We had all won our first sets in doubles so it could have gone either way at that point," Talton said.

The loss was a disappointing one to the team. "We were very disappointed after the match. We felt like we had a very good chance going into the doubles," Gagnon said.

Assistant Coach Emily Schaefer agreed. "We were tied 3-3 going into the doubles. It looked pretty good because our three doubles teams had all won their first sets.

"It was tough to lose after being up in the doubles, but we look forward to playing Arkansas in the regional tournament," she said.

Rice may get another chance to see Arkansas once again due to the new format in the conference tournament. In previous years, there was only one Southwest Conference tournament, and the winner was the only team to go to the NCAA tournament.

Now, the top eight teams in the region go to the regional tournament which is part of the NCAA tournament. Currently, Rice is ranked fifth in the region, and a spot in the regionals is very promising.

The next match for women's tennis is against the University of Texas. The Owls will take on the Longhorns next Sunday in Austin. This will prove to be another challenging match. Currently, the Longhorns are ranked second in the nation.

This item appeared in the Sports section of the February 16, 1996 issue.

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