University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Host Texas in Battle of Ranked Teams
3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
| No. 34 HOUSTON COUGARS vs. No. 52 TEXAS LONGHORNS | |
|---|---|
| Date/Time | Saturday, March 7 • 1 pm CT |
| Location | Houston Country Club • Houston, Texas |
| Live Scoring | UHCougars.com/TennisScores |
| Series History | Texas leads, 21-0 |
| Social Media |   |
HOUSTON - The No. 34 University of Houston tennis team reaches one of the marquee dates on the 2015 calendar on Saturday afternoon, when they welcome No. 52 Texas to Houston Country Club. First serve is scheduled for 1 pm CT, and Cougar fans can follow the match live at UHCougars.com/TennisScores.
The Cougars (9-4) are red hot after winning their last five matches and have risen to No. 34 in the ITA national rankings. Houston last took the court on March 4, a 5-0 sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Sophomore Tina Rupert earned the clinching point as Houston improved to 6-1 at home this season.
Junior Rocio Martin was the first Cougar to earn a point against the Islanders, racking up her fifth consecutive singles victory. Martin was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday and has upped her singles record to 11-8 this season. In doubles play, Martin is tied for the team lead with 10 victories.
The Cougars have won five straight matchups with nationally-ranked teams and are 5-2 on the year against the top programs in the nation. Houston's next win over a top-75 club will be their sixth of the season and break a program record that was set just last year.
Sophomore Despoina Vogasari is a team-best 21-5 heading into Saturday's match, and at No. 34 individually, she is the highest-rated player from the American Athletic Conference. Vogasari is a two-time American Player of the Week this season.
Senior Elena Kordolaimi has also nabbed an American weekly honor in 2015. She enters Saturday's showdown with a 19-5 singles record, and like Martin, she has won 10 doubles matches.
 | SCOUTING TEXAS |
The Longhorns (2-5) are ranked No. 52 in the latest ITA national rankings. They enter Saturday's match with losses in their last four contests, including a 6-1 setback against No. 28 Northwestern on March 1.
Two-time All-American Breaunna Addison is the lone Longhorn in the national rankings, at No. 47. The junior won 30 singles matches in 2012-13 and 29 more last season.
Addison and teammate Ryann Foster form the No. 27 doubles pairing in the nation.
Houston will be looking for their first ever victory against the Longhorns. Texas has won the previous 21 meetings between the programs, including all 10 matches in the city of Houston.
The Longhorns last visited Houston on Feb. 25, 1995, an 8-0 loss for the Cougars. Then ranked No. 2 in the nation, Texas went on to win the NCAA Division I National Championship that season.
Houston and Texas faced off twice last season. The Longhorns won a regular season meeting, 5-0, on Feb. 28, 2014 in Austin. The squads met again in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, with Texas earning another 5-0 victory on April 9, 2014 in College Station.
The Cougars have had individual success against Texas already this season. At the USTA/ITA Texas Regional Championships in October, Kordolaimi took down Pippa Horn in the Round of 32, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, and Vogasari defeated Neda Koprcina in the Quarterfinals, 6-3, 7-6, on the way to winning the title.
| UP NEXT FOR THE COUGARS |
Houston finishes a three-match home stand on Saturday, March 14 against Memphis. The match begins at 1 pm CT at Houston Country Club, with live scoring available at UHCougars.com/TennisScores .
| 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).
--UHCougars.com--
