University of Houston
Rice Invitational
Nicolaou Wins Rice Invite Flight Finals
9/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
HOUSTON -- Sophomore Constandena Nicolaou won the flight seven finals, while the Houston Cougar Women's Tennis team completed the final day of the Rice Invitational on Sunday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
Nicolaou booked a slot in the flight seven finals with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Carrie Casey (SHSU) on Saturday, and was back in action Sunday to face Haruka Sasaki (UNT). Nicolaou controlled the entire match, racing to a 6-2 win in the first set before sealing the match with a 6-1 mark in the second. The victory gave Nicolaou a perfect 3-0 record in her first fall tournament with the Cougars.
Freshman Laura Bernardos turned in an impressive weekend while making her collegiate debut. Competing as a Cougar for the first time, Bernardos earned her first victory on Friday before dropping a close match on Saturday. Bernardos bounced back nicely in the third-place match of flight eight, defeating Sonia Madronal (UTSA) 6-2, 6-3 to finish with a 2-1 record for the invitational.
The Cougars won four singles matches on Sunday including senior Sveva Mazzari who battled through Houston's only 3-set match of the afternoon. Competing in flight two, Mazzari took the first set against Malene Stripp (Oklahoma) 6-3, before Stripp was able to tie the match with a 6-3 win of her own. The third set played just as close as the match, going to a tiebreaker, before Mazzari edged out the Sooner 7-6 (6) to seal the victory.
Sophomore Lauren Alter picked up Houston's final singles victory of the weekend while playing in flight three. Alter dropped just one game in her Sunday match against Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) cruising to a 6-0, 6-1 win to pick up her first singles victory of the year.
Sophomore Tsveta Dimitrova earned victories over Agustina Serio (UTA) and #45 Lindsey Hodge (Rice) in the first and second rounds, respectively, to pick up a berth in the flight one finals. In the finals, Dimitrova met Janet Koch (Kansas), where she battled but ultimately lost the first set 6-4, and then fell 6-0 in the second. Dimitrova finished with a 2-1 record on the weekend.
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
In early September, Dimitrova was selected for the ITA Women's All-American Championships. Dimitrova will travel to Pacific Palisades, Calif, to compete in the pre-qualifying round across Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, while the qualifying round will be held Oct. 3-4 and the main draw will run Oct. 5-8.
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The Cougars are proud to introduce the Center Court Club, a restricted-giving program that directly impacts the needs of the University of Houston Tennis program. Gifts to the Center Court Club provide financial support directly to the University of Houston Tennis program for needs beyond the program's operating budget. Revenue generated from the Center Court Club is used at the discretion of the head coach for program enhancements. Membership in the Center Court Club is annual and requires a minimum $100 gift.
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WINNER
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ACE
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GRAND SLAM
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Players Mentioned
