University of Houston Athletics
Houston Heads East Looking to Increase Win Streak
2/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
| No. 39 HOUSTON COUGARS vs. No. 36 BROWN BEARS | |
|---|---|
| Date/Time | Saturday, Feb. 28 • 9 am CT |
| Location | Pizzitola Sports Center • Providence, R.I. |
| Series History | First Meeting |
| Social Media |   |
| No. 39 HOUSTON COUGARS vs. UCONN HUSKIES | |
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| Date/Time | Saturday, Feb. 28 • 5 pm CT |
| Location | East Hartford Tennis Club • East Hartford, Conn. |
| Series History | • Houston leads, 1-0 |
| Social Media | |
HOUSTON - Riding high after two straight wins and a huge boost in the national rankings, the University of Houston tennis team goes east this weekend for a pair of Saturday matches. The No. 39 Cougars will battle No. 36 Brown at 9 am CT in Providence, R.I. Later that day, they will travel to East Harford, Conn., to face American Athletic Conference rival UConn at 5 pm CT.
Houston (6-4) vaulted 17 spots to No. 39 in Tuesday's edition of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. The national mark is the highest in a month for Patrick Sullivan's squad, and also the top ranking given to an American Athletic Conference team.
The Cougars earned the lofty position after four straight wins against nationally-ranked opponents. Last week, Houston battled the elements and a pair of challenging opponents to defeat Missouri, 4-2, on Feb. 20 and No. 48 Utah, 4-2, on Feb. 22.
Senior Elena Kordolaimi and junior Rocio Martin each went 2-0 last week. Kordolaimi stretched her career-best winning streak to 12 matches, running her overall record to 17-4. The Lamia, Greece native was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday, her first weekly honor this season and the third of her career.
Martin earned the decisive point in the Missouri victory when she topped Brianna Lashway, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), in a thriller. Two days later, she battled back to beat Utah's Luisa da Rosa, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, nailing down another important point against the Utes.
Houston sophomore Despoina Vogasari is the highest-ranked American Athletic Conference singles player, at No. 34. The reigning Texas Regional Champion is 19-4, with a 6-1 mark against ranked competitors.
Junior Maria Cardenas came through with the clinching point in Houston's win over Utah last week. Cardenas stood tall for nearly four hours and battled back from a third set deficit to take down Margo Pletcher, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), and seal the win. The victory was the 10th of the season for the Caracas, Venezuela native.
 | SCOUTING BROWN |
Like Houston, Brown experienced a huge surge in this week's ITA national rankings. The Bears (6-2) rose from No. 63 to No. 36 after building a four-match winning streak.
Brown toppled Florida International, 4-3, on Feb. 21 in their last match. The Bears rallied for the win after losing the doubles point, with senior Nikita Uberoi scoring the decisive victory at the winner-take-all No. 6 singles spot.
The Bears sport two players ranked in the ITA Northeast Region listings. Sophomore Dayna Lord is ranked No. 11, junior Hannah Camhi is ranked 19th, and together the duo comprises the region's ninth-ranked doubles tandem.
Saturday will mark the first meeting between Houston and Brown.
| SCOUTING UCONN |
UConn is coming off of a 6-1 victory over LIU Brooklyn on Feb. 21. At 7-4 overall, the Huskies are off to their best start since 2008.
Senior Maxene Weinberg and freshman Zaina Zaki each advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Northeast Regional tournament in October. Zaki is coming off of wins in both singles and doubles in the LIU Brooklyn match.
Unlike the Cougars, UConn has already faced an American opponent this season. They were beaten by UCF, 6-1, on Feb. 13. Sophomore Emma Alderman earned the lone win.
Houston has faced the Huskies just once before, a 4-0 win on March 8, 2014. Vogasari, Cardenas and Tina Rupert each earned singles wins.
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
Houston is back at the John E. Hoff Courts on Wednesday, March 4 to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Prairie View A&M. The day's events begin at 11 am CT.
| FOLLOW THE COUGARS! |
Fans can keep up with the latest in University of Houston Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougarSports), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the women's tennis team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonCougarTennis) and Twitter pages (@UHCougarTennis).
Players Mentioned
