University of Houston
UConn
Cougars Earn Two Victories on Saturday
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Final Stats vs. Brown | Final Stats vs. UConn
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - The No. 39 University of Houston tennis team faced a pair of quality opponents and went undefeated on Saturday, earning a 4-3 victory over No. 36 Brown in their morning match before taking down UConn, 6-1, in the nightcap. With the wins, Houston is 8-4, with four straight victories.
"I'm very proud of our effort today, especially the unbelievable comeback we had in the first match," said Houston Head Coach Patrick Sullivan. "There is no quit at all in our squad, and we showed that twice today: once to rally against a quality Brown team and again to fight through fatigue for a win over UConn."
Rocio Martin was Houston's top performer on the day. The junior had an ironman effort, going 4-0 with a pair of wins in both singles and doubles.
 | No. 39 HOUSTON 4, No. 36 BROWN 3 |
Houston opened the day at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I., for their first-ever meeting with Brown (6-3). The match was a thriller, with the Cougars going to distance to earn the win.
The Cougars opened the proceedings by taking the doubles point, which would prove crucial before the day was through. Elena Kordolaimi and Despoina Vogasari secured the top court, 6-2, over Dayna Lord and Ammu Mandalap. Martin and Mina Markovic followed with a 6-4 victory over Alyza Benotto and Nikia Uberoi on court three.
The Bears took all three of the top-half singles courts, however, to build a 3-1 lead. Lord topped No. 34 Vogasari on court one, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), Benotto got the win over Kordolaimi in the second flight, 6-1, 6-4, and Hannah Camhi was a 6-1, 6-4 victor over Tina Rupert on court three.
But the Cougars showed tremendous resolve to battle back for another comeback victory and their fifth straight win over a ranked opponent. Martin swung the momentum back to the Cougars on court four, with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Maddie Stearns.
Markovic evened the total score on the fifth court, where she rallied past Mandalap, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3). The freshman had trailed, 6-5, in the third set before battling back to keep the match alive.
That left Maria Cardenas in a winner-take-all match against Uberoi in the sixth flight. The junior was coming off of a three-set victory to clinch the Utah match on Feb. 22, and like that contest, her battle on Saturday morning would go all the way to a third set tiebreak. Once again, Cardenas was up to the challenge, lifting the Cougars to victory with a 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) triumph.
Like Markovic, Cardenas trailed throughout the third set before staging a rally. Uberoi held leads of 2-0 and 6-5, but the Cougar was the winner in the end.
"It was great to see the bottom three pick us up after the top of the lineup has carried us through many of our early matches," said Sullivan. "Our entire lineup is capable of coming through in big spots, and we showed that today."
At No. 36, Brown is the highest-ranked opponent to fall to the Cougars since Houston took down No. 31 DePaul, 4-2, on April 6, 2014. With five wins over nationally-ranked competition, the Cougars have already equaled their total from last season.
| No. 39 HOUSTON 6, UCONN 1 |
In contrast to the morning match, Houston was able to earn their most lopsided victory in more than a month in their first match of the season against an American Athletic Conference opponent. Still, the Cougars had to play quality tennis to put away the Huskies (7-5) at the East Harford Tennis Club.
"It took a great effort to turn around and overcome a much-improved UConn squad," said Sullivan. "The UConn coaching staff is doing a great job with that program, and the match was competitive on every court."
Houston won both completed doubles matches by 6-2 scores. Vogasari and Kordolaimi won the top flight over Yelyzaveta Pletnyeva and Srna Stosljevic, while Markovic and Martin took the third court from Summer Walker and Shea Flanagan.
Houston posted straight sets victories on the first two completed singles courts. No. 34 Vogasari was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Stosljevic, and Martin won by the same count in the fourth flight over Zaina Zaki.
UConn earned their lone point on court five, where Walker was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Angela Lorenzo. But it did not take long for the Cougars to clinch. Senior Charlotte Phillips earned the decisive victory in the sixth flight with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Flanagan.
With the result in hand, Houston put the finishing touches on the remaining two courts. Rupert won on court three, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) over Pletnyeva, and Kordolaimi rallied past Emma Alderman in the second flight, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
"It's great to pick up our first win of the year against a conference opponent," said Sullivan. "Hopefully we can build on our current four-match winning streak and continue to earn victories."
| RESULTS |
#39 HOUSTON 4, #36 BROWN 3
SINGLES
1. Dayna Lord (BROWN) def. #34 Despoina Vogasari (UH) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Alyza Benotto (BROWN) def. Elena Kordolaimi (UH) 6-1, 6-4
3. Hannah Camhi (BROWN) def. Tina Rupert (UH) 6-1, 6-4
4. Rocio Martin (UH) def. Maddie Stearns (BROWN) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
5. Mina Markovic (UH) def. Ammu Mandalap (BROWN) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Maria Cardenas (UH) def. Nikita Uberoi (BROWN) 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
DOUBLES
1. Elena Kordolaimi/Despoina Vogasari (UH) def. Dayna Lord/Ammu Mandalap (BROWN) 6-2
2. Maddie Stearns/Hannah Camhi (BROWN) vs. Maria Cardenas/Tina Rupert (UH) 5-5, unfinished
3. Mina Markovic/Rocio Martin (UH) def. Alyza Benotto/Nikita Uberoi (BROWN) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,2,1,4,5,6)
#39 HOUSTON 6, UCONN 1
SINGLES
1. #34 Despoina Vogasari (UH) def. Srna Stosljevic (UCONN) 6-2, 6-2
2. Elena Kordolaimi (UH) def. Emma Alderman (UCONN) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Tina Rupert (UH) def. Yelyzaveta Pletnyeva (UCONN) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Rocio Martin (UH) def. Zaina Zaki (UCONN) 6-2, 6-2
5. Summer Walker (UCONN) def. Angela Lorenzo (UH) 6-1, 6-4
6. Charlotte Phillips (UH) def. Shea Flanagan (UCONN) 6-4, 6-1
DOUBLES
1. Elena Kordolaimi/Despoina Vogasari (UH) def. Yelyzaveta Pletnyeva/Srna Stosljevic (UCONN) 6-2
2. Emma Alderman/Zaina Zaki (UCONN) vs. Maria Cardenas/Tina Rupert (UH) unfinished
3. Mina Markovic/Rocio Martin (UH) def. Summer Walker/Shea Flanagan (UCONN) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,4,5,6,3,2)
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
Houston is back at the John E. Hoff Courts on Wednesday morning to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Prairie View A&M. The day's events begin at 11 am CT, and live scoring is available at UHCougars.com/TennisScores .
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--UHCougars.com--
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