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The Rice Thresher
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by ERIC RAUB THRESHER STAFF
The Owls handily defeated a lesser team, beating Abilene Christian University 5-1 Saturday. But as they've done all year, they then lost to a nationally ranked team in a match they felt they should have won. This time, it was a 5-2 loss to 44th-ranked University of Tulsa, a Western Athletic Conference foe, later the same day. "It was a disappointing loss," sophomore Prakash Venkataraman said. "That was a match we definitely should've won. Granted, their ranking was a little higher, but I think we should've won that one." The Owls continued another disturbing trend against Tulsa. They started off strongly, winning at the second and third doubles positions to claim the point. But despite taking four singles matches to three sets, they managed to win just one - freshman Matthias Mathaes' win at the No. 1 spot. "We were a little disappointed," assistant coach Shaheen Ladhani said. "We lost a really close one. We won the doubles point and we were ahead in several of the singles matches. We were just having trouble finishing." Injuries once again kept Rice at less than full strength, as senior Robert Collins was held out of action with a knee injury. Collins, Rice's No. 1 singles player and Venkataraman's partner in Rice's No. 1 doubles squad, hopes to be back by next weekend's WAC tournament, but it is still unclear whether he will be able to play. With the reduced depth and the end of a long season, fatigue became a major factor against the Golden Hurricane. As a result, the coaching staff planned to give the team a chance to use some of the two-week period before the WAC Tournament for some much-needed rest and relaxation. "We're giving the team some days off," Ladhani said. "We're going to recharge a bit and step it up some more early next week." When they do practice, the Owls don't expect to do much more than fine-tuning. At this point in the season, there's not much more they can really learn. "Basically, we're going to be just oiling the joints a bit," Ladhani said. "We'll rehearse some match-type situations and try to prepare ourselves for what may arise." One area of concern is the team's tendency to lose close matches. The Owls plan to address the issue, though they're not sure exactly what the problem is. "I don't think we're doing anything wrong specifically," Venkataraman said. "We're playing hard, and we're just going to work on the usual things." The season has been disappointing for the Owls, who finished 15-12 and unranked, but the coaching staff has appreciated the fact that the players have continued to play hard. "[Head coach Ron] Smarr and I continue to be pleased with the effort being put forth," Ladhani said. "They've got good spirit and good motivation. Hypothetically, even if things were terrible - which they aren't - we'd still expect the same thing from them, and they've given it to us." The Owls have no choice but to remain optimistic, especially knowing that a good showing at the WAC Tournament April 28-30 in Fort Worth could extend their season further. "We still have an outside shot at the NCAA Tournament," Ladhani said. "Everyone's keeping that in mind. Everybody is hungry to play. We've got nothing to lose." - back - |
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