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University of Houston Athletics
Making a Racquet - Vol. 12
3/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
March 24, 2015
It has been a busy spring `break' for us Cougars this year. As the campus became deserted and the students headed home for the week or to the likes of Panama City and Cancun, we were on the courts doing what we do best: winning.
After we returned from our trip to New Orleans, we took to the practice courts as soon as we arrived back in Houston to get ready to play against Cincinnati the following day.
It was a cloudy grey Thursday morning at the Houston Country Club and with rain approaching, we started the doubles point with a quick and fierce approach. The first doubles win was won by the senior duo of Elena and myself. We were quickly followed by court three also winning 6-1 to give us the 1-0 lead.
With the rain staying away, it was then time to begin the singles. We were off to a dominating start, leading on all courts, except it didn't stay dry for long and as is usual with Houston weather, it rained earlier than predicted. We had a 45-minute rain delay. With the hard courts being extremely wet and dangerously slippery, a decision was made to resume the matches on the red clay. As you can imagine, the Spaniards, plus Maria from Venezuela, were overwhelmed with this decision - for them it felt like Christmas had come early!
With the majority of the team loving the clay, it didn't take long to finish what we started, and we dominated to get the win, 6-0 overall. Since grass is my favourite surface, it took me some time to adjust to the clay, and I only won my first set when the match was clinched!
Moving to clay halfway through any tennis match is a new one for me, but it is uncommon to play a collegiate tennis on surfaces other than hard, especially red clay. It is also something that isn't likely to happen any time soon - although with Houston's weather, you never know what can happen! Perhaps we can suggest that Houston Country Club turns the golf course into some grass tennis courts? Now, that will definitely be a new one for us all!
With one down and two to go, it was now time to take on the Pirates from East Carolina on Friday, again at the Country Club. With the forecast predicting a rainy afternoon, we started the match with singles instead of doubles. It didn't take long for us to earn a 3-0 lead with wins from Debbie, Tina and Elena. The remaining matches didn't come easy, though, and we had to work hard to earn all three bottom courts in close third sets.
Again, with the weather surprising us all, the rain stayed away this time and we concluded the day with the doubles point, where court two earned the first victory, followed by a 7-6 win on court one after saving several match points to gain us the seventh point of the day, to make it 7-0 overall.
The last encounter of our spring break campaign was Marshall on Sunday at our home courts.
Once again, with the same intensity and aggression, we were quick to earn the valuable doubles point. Court two was first to get the win, although the freshman due of Mina and Angela missed out on the win on court three. It was now down to the Greeks, who came back from 3-4 to get the victory.
We carried the intensity and fire into the singles as Deb quickly made the score 2-0 with a convincing win. The freshman were next to take the next two wins, to clinch the match and make it 4-0. Although we had a result, we played out the remaining matches, where Tina and Elena narrowly lost in third set match tiebreaks. However Maria ended the day with a positive win to make it 5-2 overall.
The girls and I are now busy preparing for our next matches, as we go up against Dartmouth followed by Tyler Junior College - both this Saturday at Houston Country Club. With just three home matches remaining, we would appreciate every last bit of support from our amazing fans!
(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 looks back on Houston's three victories over spring break.)
VOLUME XII - MARCH 24, 2015
 | THREE FOR THREE! |
After we returned from our trip to New Orleans, we took to the practice courts as soon as we arrived back in Houston to get ready to play against Cincinnati the following day.
It was a cloudy grey Thursday morning at the Houston Country Club and with rain approaching, we started the doubles point with a quick and fierce approach. The first doubles win was won by the senior duo of Elena and myself. We were quickly followed by court three also winning 6-1 to give us the 1-0 lead.
With the rain staying away, it was then time to begin the singles. We were off to a dominating start, leading on all courts, except it didn't stay dry for long and as is usual with Houston weather, it rained earlier than predicted. We had a 45-minute rain delay. With the hard courts being extremely wet and dangerously slippery, a decision was made to resume the matches on the red clay. As you can imagine, the Spaniards, plus Maria from Venezuela, were overwhelmed with this decision - for them it felt like Christmas had come early!
With the majority of the team loving the clay, it didn't take long to finish what we started, and we dominated to get the win, 6-0 overall. Since grass is my favourite surface, it took me some time to adjust to the clay, and I only won my first set when the match was clinched!
Moving to clay halfway through any tennis match is a new one for me, but it is uncommon to play a collegiate tennis on surfaces other than hard, especially red clay. It is also something that isn't likely to happen any time soon - although with Houston's weather, you never know what can happen! Perhaps we can suggest that Houston Country Club turns the golf course into some grass tennis courts? Now, that will definitely be a new one for us all!
With one down and two to go, it was now time to take on the Pirates from East Carolina on Friday, again at the Country Club. With the forecast predicting a rainy afternoon, we started the match with singles instead of doubles. It didn't take long for us to earn a 3-0 lead with wins from Debbie, Tina and Elena. The remaining matches didn't come easy, though, and we had to work hard to earn all three bottom courts in close third sets.
Again, with the weather surprising us all, the rain stayed away this time and we concluded the day with the doubles point, where court two earned the first victory, followed by a 7-6 win on court one after saving several match points to gain us the seventh point of the day, to make it 7-0 overall.
The last encounter of our spring break campaign was Marshall on Sunday at our home courts.
Once again, with the same intensity and aggression, we were quick to earn the valuable doubles point. Court two was first to get the win, although the freshman due of Mina and Angela missed out on the win on court three. It was now down to the Greeks, who came back from 3-4 to get the victory.
We carried the intensity and fire into the singles as Deb quickly made the score 2-0 with a convincing win. The freshman were next to take the next two wins, to clinch the match and make it 4-0. Although we had a result, we played out the remaining matches, where Tina and Elena narrowly lost in third set match tiebreaks. However Maria ended the day with a positive win to make it 5-2 overall.
The girls and I are now busy preparing for our next matches, as we go up against Dartmouth followed by Tyler Junior College - both this Saturday at Houston Country Club. With just three home matches remaining, we would appreciate every last bit of support from our amazing fans!
Charlotte
Players Mentioned
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