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University of Houston Athletics
Making a Racquet - Vol. 6
2/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
(Editor's Note: "Making a Racquet" is written by senior women's tennis player Charlotte Phillips, who is interning with the Houston Athletics Communications department this semester. Throughout the season, Charlotte will provide a behind-the-scenes look into the Cougar tennis program, including practice stories, match recaps, interesting anecdotes and notes from the road. Today's entry recaps the team's huge victories over Washington State and Washington last week.)
VOLUME VI - FEB. 10, 2015
 | IT'S A SWEEP! |
It was a great weekend for the Cougars, as we bounced back from our not-so-great one the previous weekend. We took care of business and got the wins back-to-back against Washington State on Friday and Washington on Saturday.
We knew going into the weekend that both teams would be out for revenge after we beat them last year; we would have to be ready to use all our fight, grit and determination to get the results we wanted. This time, we were playing in Houston, with the sun shining and blue skies - a lot different from the snow in Washington last year!
Our winning weekend started on a chilly but sunny Friday morning, with our usual pre-match warm up including some quick practice doubles points to fire us up right before the doubles matches. We were certainly fired up for the doubles as the Greek duo of Elena and Debbie took the first win, shortly followed by a win from Tina and Maria on court two, earning us the 1-0 lead.
Then it was on to singles, and it didn't take long for us to get a 2-0 start with a quick double bagel whipping (6-0, 6-0, for those who don't know!) from Maria. Washington State wasn't going to go out easy though, as we were soon behind on five of the six singles courts. Needless to say, things weren't looking promising.
With a win for Washington State on court five, and with both teams shouting out "Go Cougars," the score was 2-1 and the visitors had the momentum. But Debbie came back to earn the win on the top court, making it 3-1, and we just needed one more point to clinch the match.
Elena was down a set on court two, but she showed her usual amount of fight to come back and earn the win for us on court two. Thanks to her a Debbie's rallies, we were able to get a close win after things looked bleak just an hour earlier.
Sunday was a similar start to the day, but even with the exact same warm-up and doubles points right before the start of the match, it was Washington who got the doubles point, leaving us trailing 1-0 from the start.
It was then down to singles and after a last-minute line-up change for us, I had to run on court and be ready to play at number six. With a win from Washington on court four, we were still trailing, although Maria soon got the scores on the board for us with another dominant win on court five. Elena got the job done, and Debbie followed suit, giving us a 3-2 lead.
We just needed one more point, from Rocio or myself. The win wasn't from me, but Rocio bounced back from a slow start, and showing some Spanish fire, she clinched the fourth point. Victory was ours!
After our tough but fun weekend, we went to get some good food and chill out on the rooftop at Calhoun's (on campus - I highly recommend). As we were surrounded by blue skies and the sunset, it was a good end to a good weekend!
We now have a tough week of practice ahead of us, but with this beautiful February weather, it sure makes the hard work a lot more fun!
We will now head to Kansas on Friday, to seek revenge from last year's loss against the Jayhawks.
Thanks for reading, Cougar fans!
Charlotte
Players Mentioned
