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The Rice Thresher
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Eight players from last yearıs 21-9 NCAA tournament team return by Eric Raub thresher staff
This season, armed with more experience and a schedule full of opportunities, the Owls are eager to prove last year's success wasn't an aberration but the first step on the way to better things. Last year's squad was a youthful team that was mostly comprised of underclassmen and often had half of the six dual match single spots filled by freshmen. The Owls only lost one player from last year's team to graduation, and with another year's worth of experience for each returning player, the team hopes to pick up where it left off. "Last year was a really big step for us, going to the NCAAs," junior Ramez Qamer said. "We only want to build on that, and I think we have the tools to do it." Senior Prakash Venkataraman, who teamed with former Owl Robert Collins to form Rice's consistent No. 1 doubles team in 1999-'00, will return to the team this season after a year abroad. The Owls hope Venkataraman and freshmen Sydney Jim and William Yang will contribute to the success of this year's team. "Prakash should make a big difference in doubles," head coach Ron Smarr said. "I think he's one of the better doubles players in the country. Sydney Jim and William Yang both have the talent to break into the starting lineup." Although most faces returning to the court will be familiar, the Owls say nothing is set in stone concerning the makeup of this year's team. Last year, the coaching staff juggled sophomores Richard and William Barker and junior Matthias Mathaes in the top spots of the lineup, and the case is much the same heading into this season. "We don't know for sure who's going to be the number one player," Smarr said. "It could be Matthias or Richard Barker or William Barker. It's going to be a really good battle." The Owls should have plenty of depth at the lower spots of the lineup. Junior Cody Jackson went 14-2 at the fourth through sixth positions last season, and senior Fabien Giraud posted a 12-5 mark at the three through six spots. Plagued by injuries to key players in the past, the Owls hope to avoid such losses this year. Team members believe they can sustain some losses if necessary, but are less confident in their ability to recover from a loss in the top half of the team. "We really can't afford injuries to the guys at the top-four level," Smarr said. "I think we have enough depth to make up for some injuries but you want to keep those top four healthy." If the Owls are able to play well and stay healthy throughout the fall season's individual tournament schedule, they hope to achieve a goal that eluded them last year - knocking off one of the nation's top teams in dual match play in the spring. The Owls lost tight 4-3 decisions in dual match games to No. 7 Texas A&M University and No. 11 University of Miami. This year, they may have just enough experience to take a top team out and move themselves into the elite rankings. The schedule will give them plenty of chances. In addition to the competitive Blue-Grey Championships, the Owls will face Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University and Texas A&M University, which finished last season ranked fifth through seventh nationally. "This year we're going to be a lot stronger," Richard Barker said. "We're a young team - it's not a question of if we'll beat them, but when. We've got a tough schedule ahead of us so we're going to have chances and we're going to take some. It's just a question of whether we'll take enough to get in the top 10 or 15." Rice was scheduled to host the Continental Cup tournament this weekend, but the event was canceled due to Tuesday's terrorist attack on the United States (See Story, Page 1). The Owls will begin play Sept. 20 at the Lamar Invitational in Beaumont.
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