The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Rice
No. 17 Women's Tennis blanks Rice, 7-0
01.22.2011 | Women's Tennis
Jan. 22, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas - No. 17 Texas (1-0) captured the doubles point and swept all six singles matches en route to a 7-0 win over Rice Saturday afternoon in UT's season opener at Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
Texas opened the match by edging Rice in a hard-fought doubles session and assuming a 1-0 lead. The Owls collected the session's first win at third doubles. Rice's Jessica Jackson and Danny Trigo were engaged in a 4-4 tie against Texas' Juliana Gajic and Maggie Mello before the Owls claimed the next four games to secure an 8-4 victory.
The match at second doubles produced a lengthy battle between UT's Amanda Craddock and Cierra Gaytan-Leach and Rice's Alex Rasch and Dominique Harmath. With the match tied at six, the Longhorns broke the Owls' serve to take a 7-6 lead. Rice saved several match points in the next game, but Texas, on Craddock's serve, held off the Owls to claim an 8-6 win.
At first doubles, Texas' Krista Damico and Aeriel Ellis broke Rice's Ana Guzman and Rebekka Hanle at seven-all to assume an 8-7 lead, but Rice broke back to force a tiebreaker. At 5-all in the tiebreaker, a swinging volley at the net from Damico gave UT a 6-5 lead. On the next Rice serve, Damico smashed a forehand that clipped the net cord and bounced out-of-reach in the right doubles alley to give Texas the decisive point and stake the Longhorns to a 1-0 match lead.
Gajic, one of two Texas freshmen in the singles lineup, was the first Longhorn off of the courts in singles, as she posted her first career dual-match win, a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Rice's Kim Anicete. UT's eighth-ranked Ellis pushed the Texas lead to 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Rice's Harmath at first singles. Texas' Mello clinched the team victory for the Horns at fourth singles, where she posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Rice's Guzman.
Texas' Craddock extended the Longhorns' lead to 5-0 at third singles, where she registered a 6-4, 6-1 win over Jackson. UT's Damico dropped the first set to Rice's 114th-ranked Hanle at second singles, but she rallied for a 6-4 second-set win and outlasted Hanle in the ensuing match tiebreak to give Texas a 6-0 lead. Gaytan-Leach held on for a 6-3, 7-6 (1) over Rice's Rasch at sixth singles to seal the victory for Texas.
Texas resumes play on Saturday, Jan. 29 in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend event. UT will take on Washington in Tallahassee, Fla.
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Patty Fendick-McCain
"You always like to start the season with a win. Our freshmen got off to a good start. They seemed to fit seamlessly into the lineup. It was a great effort by Krista Damico to come back from a set down to get a win over a ranked opponent. She worked hard to get that win, and it was a true testament to the effort she has put in this season."
No. 17 Texas 7, Rice 0
Doubles - Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
1 Damico/Ellis (UT) def. Guzman/Hanle (Rice) - 9-8 (5)
2 Craddock/Gaytan-Leach (UT) def. Rasch/Harmath (Rice) - 8-6
3 Jackson/Trigo (Rice) def. Gajic/Mello (UT) - 8-4
Singles - Order of Finish: 5, 1, 4, 3, 2, 6
1 #8 Aeriel Ellis (UT) def. Dominique Harmath (Rice) - 6-3, 6-3
2 Krista Damico (UT) def. #114 Rebekka Hanle (Rice) - 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (12-10)
3 Amanda Craddock (UT) def. Jessica Jackson (Rice) - 6-4, 6-1
4 Maggie Mello (UT) def. Ana Guzman (Rice) - 6-3, 6-3
5 Juliana Gajic (UT) def. Kim Anicete (Rice) - 6-1, 6-1
6 Cierra Gaytan-Leach (UT) def. Alex Rasch (Rice) - 6-3, 7-6 (1)
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