Men's tennis returns from New Mexico to host two matches

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by Shay Gilmore

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It was a weekend of mixed results for the men's tennis team as they competed in two matches in New Mexico last weekend. The Owls had anticipated these matches as true tests of their ability under pressure.

"I think that if we win 50 percent of our road matches, we're doing pretty well; it's hard on the road after all," Men's Assistant Coach Greg Davis said.

By these standards, the Owls indeed did "pretty well" last weekend with a 5-2 win over New Mexico State University and a 7-0 loss to the nationally-ranked University of New Mexico.

The Owls won their third consecutive dual match of the season on Friday in Albuquerque against New Mexico State University. The Owls took a 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point.

Sophomores Darin Mast and Efe Ustundag routed their opponents 8-2.

The senior team of Jon Elsberry and Shaheen Ladhani also managed to put their opponents, who are currently ranked 18th nationally, in their place with an 8-3 win.

"It was nice to see Darin and Efe playing at that level," Davis said.

In singles action, Rice swept the lower half of the draw to seal the victory.

Elsberry and Ladhani had difficult straight-set losses to New Mexico State's top players, but these losses were countered by the straight set wins of freshman Robert Collins and junior Rico Jacober.

Collins played to an unheard-of 16 deuces in the second game of his first set before he finally was able to put away his opponent 6-4, 6-4.

Jacober played particularly well in his match against Andy Caldwell of New Mexico State University. "Jacober played the best tennis I've ever seen him play in that match," Collins said.

Ladhani said, "I don't think that this kind of win would have been possible last year. The team this year seems to have a confidence and direction that are proving to be quite influential."

As the Owls remained in Albuquerque on Saturday, the tables were turned on them in their match against the University of New Mexico. "This match was a nightmare," Collins said. "Those guys were playing out of their minds."

Although all the Rice doubles teams lost, the sophomore team of Mast and Ustundag offered a Rice highlight as they carried their opponents all the way to 4-7 in the tie-breaker.

"Darin and Efe weren't originally paired together for doubles, and it's a tribute to their versatility to see them playing that well at that level," Ladhani said.

After losing the doubles point, the Owls went on to lose all their singles matches in straight sets. Sophomore Naisohn Arfai had a shot at a second-set split in his singles match, but he lost 7-9 in the tie-breaker.

Ustundag also took his opponent to a tie-breaker in his second set. University of New Mexico walked away from the match, however, certain of its win over the Owls.

"I really think that the home court advantage was a big factor this weekend against UNM," Davis said. "While the altitude is no excuse, we did tie them last year when they were here in Texas, and so I'm kinda forced to think that the adjustment for our guys might be a little rough over there."

The team hosts two matches this week. Yesterday the team faced the University of Texas at San Antonio in a match that was rescheduled from earlier in the season.

The Owls will take on Northeastern Louisiana State University tomorrow at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.

This item appeared in the Sports section of the February 23, 1996 issue.

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