The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, October 5, 2001 Page: 18 of 24
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18
THE RICE THRESHER SPORTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5,2001
Villalobos makes successful debut
by Eric Raub
THRESHER STAFF
The Rice women's tennis team
felt a few bumps in the beginning of
the road last weekend when it
opened its season at the Harvard
Invitational. The Owls came home
with a few wins, several first-round
losses and a couple of injuries.
Freshman Erika Villalobos and
sophomore Annie Goodrich were the
lone Owls to advance to a bracket
final. The duo, which had never played
together before, scored a 9-8 win in
the final of flight C doubles over a
team from Marshall University.
"It was kind of a pleasant surprise
that a new team got to the finals,"
assistant coach Julie Thu said.
Villalobos, the top freshman colle-
giate player out of Costa Rica, scored
three singles wins and a fifth-place
finish in flight B singles in her Rice
debut. She said she gained confidence
after losing in the main draw as she
continued playing in the backdraw
with the help of Thu and head coach
Roger White.
"I was nervous because you don't
know what to expect," Villalobos
said. "Each day I played better and
better. These are the best coaches
I've ever had. In other tournaments
they don't let coaches coach you but
in college they do. Roger and Julie
were coaching and encouraging me
throughout the tournament."
'Each day I played
better and better. These
are the best coaches
I've ever had.'
— Erika Villalobos
Freshman tennis player
Many of the Owls departed early
from the main draw. The team is
trying not to read too much into the
early losses, however, citing the
strong field that included host No.
50 Harvard University, which won
three of the six flight titles.
"I think it was just the luck of the
draw," sophomore Jeri Gonzales said.
There were some good players there.
I don't think there was any jinx to it.
The people who lost in the first round
did really well in the back draw."
Another challenge facing the
Owls is the new system the coach-
ing staff is trying to get in place and
off the ground.
Thispastweekend, thegirlswere
trying to implementnew things,"Thu
said. That was the first time we've
done it in matches so we hope that
this weekend well do it better."
Injuries also struck the Owls.
Junior Stephanie Moat rolled her
ankle and sophomore Karen Chao
twisted hers, but neither is serious.
"It was just a freak accident,"
Gonzales said. "Karen's already play-
ing again and we hope Stephanie
will be soon."
The Owls host the Rice Tennis
Classic this weekend. Play begins
today at the Jake Hess Tennis Sta-
dium and runs through Sunday. Com-
peting teams include No. 70 Univer-
sity of Minnesota and Western Ath-
letic Conference opponent Univer-
sity of Texas at El Paso.
Injuries hamper men's tennis
by Eric Raub
THRESHER STAFF
The start of a season can be pretty
rough.
Four men's tennis players had to
withdraw from tournament action
due to injuries or illness in Rice's
first big weekend of the year, but
several Owls still put up notable per-
formances.
The Owls split into two groups
last weekend, with three players
heading to the University of Notre
Dame for the Tom Fallon Invitational
and eight to Baylor University for
the Texas Intercollegiates.
Senior Fabien Giraud, sopho-
more Richard Barker and junior
Ramez Qamer missed action at
Baylor, while senior Prakash
Venkataraman withdrew from his
final match at Notre Dame.
With several familiar faces out of
commission, some newcomers
stepped up to deliver solid perfor-
mances. The Owls say freshman
William Yang, playing in the gold
bracket, showed signs of poise in his
first collegiate action as he won his
first round match before losing in the
round of 32. Yang said he wasn't as
intimidated by other players in the
top bracket of his first tournament as
he thought he might be.
"They're not as good as I thought
they'd be," Yang said. "I thought
they'd be exceptionally good, but I
expect I'll be able to compete with a
majority of them."
Freshman Harding Brumby
made it to the semifinals of the green
bracket before dropping a three-set
match to eventual champion An-
thony Blache of the University of
Louisiana at Lafayette. The Owis
say Brumby's three wins on the
way to the singles semifinals show
he's ready for the college tennis
scene.
"He made it to the semis with
three good performances on the
way," assistant coach Shaheen
Ladhani said. "He is an extremely
intense young man, sometimes too
intense. He's very gutsy but con-
trolled and patient. This was his first
college tournament and he showed
no signs of intimidation."
Some more experienced players
who did not have to withdraw from
play also brought home victories.
Sophomore Vuk Rajevac picked up a
pair of wins in the consolation draw
after a first-round loss in the main
draw of the gold bracket.
For returning players, the week-
end was less about finding their way
in college tennis than returning to
doing what they feel they do best.
"It was a good first tournament
for us," Rajevac said. "It was like a
warm-up tournament. I already know
what my strengths are."
The three Owls who traveled to
Notre Dame got in a lot of playing time
during the weekend, as each Owl was
scheduled for five singles matches.
"The tournament was good be-
cause we played a lot of opponents,"
sophomore Matthias Mathaes said.
"It was also very stressful. Five
matches in one weekend is a lot of
tennis, and by the end your body is
physically stressed."
Mathaes won two of five
matches while Venkataraman and
Jackson both came home with
three wins. Mathaes and
Venkataraman also won both their
doubles matches.
"The guys were implementing tac-
tics we've been working on in prac-
tice," Ladhani said. "There were signs
of guys doing some things we've re-
hearsed. They were obviously using
their heads and thinking."
This week, some of the Owls head
to the Intercollegiate Tennis Asso-
ciation All-American tournament in
Stone Mountain, Ga. Mathaes and
sophomore William Barker will be-
gin the singles qualifying round on
Sunday. Freshman Richard Barker
will begin play later in the week in
the main draw in singles and doubles
with his brother William. Other team
members will compete in the Uni-
versity of Louisiana at Lafayette In-
vitational. which begins tomorrow
and runs through Sunday.
What's your vision?
ENVISION GRANT DEADLINE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18
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See if you have what it takes.
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Round one deadline for
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This round is open to both
undergraduate and gradu-
ate students.
COURTESY SPORTS INFORMATION
All smiles
Junior shooting guard Nick Robison smiles with one of Rice
basketball's newest fans Saturday. The players and coaching staff
visited the Shriners Hospital for Children and participated in various
activities with the children, including games and crafts.
"This is a voluntary trip we make from time to time," head coach Willis
Wilson said. "The faces of those kids just light up when they get
visitors, and by the end of the afternoon, our team is having just as
good a time as the children they came to see."
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Liu, Leslie & Reichle, Robert. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, October 5, 2001, newspaper, October 5, 2001; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443147/m1/18/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.