University of Houston
Grambling St.
Cougars Take Two In Lead Up To SMU Match
2/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Feb. 22, 2008
RUSTON, La. - In a pair of tune-up matches prior to its Conference USA Saturday showdown with SMU, the University of Houston women's tennis team cruised past both Louisiana Tech (7-0) and Grambling State (6-0) on Friday afternoon en route to winning its fifth and sixth straight matches.
The Cougars improved to 8-4 on the season.
"These two wins worked out well for us," UH head coach John Severance said. "We needed to get some more wins under our belt before we play against a very tough conference opponent tomorrow in Dallas.
"We didn't struggle in either match and honestly, we shouldn't. We came out and took care of business in a very dominating fashion."
Houston jumped all over Louisiana Tech in doubles action, winning the point with wins at both #1 and #2 and a default at #3. Jordan McCombs and Lucy Forward roared past Rocio Juarez and Adriana Makowksa, 8-2, while Lynley Wasson and Joanna Kacprzyk blasted an 8-3 decision over Alexandra Gaspar and Ashley Wedderburn.
In singles play against the Bulldogs, the Cougars dropped just 10 games in winning singles play #1 through #5. Forward took out Juarez, 6-1, 6-2, at #1, then Leila Salek whitewashed Gaspar at #2, 6-0, 6-0. Houston finished off Tech, as Neila Starratt cruised past Adriana Wedderburn, 6-0, 6-1, Vicky Simpson wore down Makowska at #4, 6-4, 6-2, and Kacprzyk blanked Mallory Smith, 6-0, 6-0. UH won at #6 by default.
Later in the afternoon, the Cougars squared off against Grambling State, and won easily while dropping just six games in both singles and doubles combined. Again, McCombs and Forward set the tone, as the tandem took out Maia Semerdjieva and Malaina Davis, 8-1, and Wasson/Kacprzyk won at #2 by an identical score, 8-1, in hammering Patricia Gallegos and Airiea Williams. Salek and Simpson finished the doubles rout, 8-0, by blanking the sister duo of Nolukhanyo and Sinovuyo Ndlabhu.
With #6 singles not played, Houston scored a perfect 5-0 sweep to take the match. Forward (opponent was Semerdjieva) and Starratt (versus Davis) both shut out their opponent, 6-0, 6-0, while Salek (S. Ndlabhu) and McCombs (Gallegos) both posted 6-0, 6-1 victories. Wasson rounded out the win with a 6-2, 6-0 win at #4 over Nolukhanyo Ndlabhu.
As mentioned, Houston returns to action tomorrow at noon, facing off against SMU in Dallas.
Players Mentioned
