Photo by: Rick Yeatts Photography
Tennis Finishes Day One At Cougar Classic
10/2/2021 7:07:00 PM | Women's Tennis
HOUSTON — The North Texas tennis team completed the first day of the Cougar Classic after a Friday rain out and Saturday morning rain delay.
The Mean Green waited hours to complete their doubles competition and did a great job, winning two of three matches.
Liisa Vehvilainen and Saki Oyama defeated a Houston opponent 9-7 and Maria Ponomareva and Jasmine Adams also took care of a Houston opponent. The second UNT doubles team also won 9-7.
In singles, the Mean Green didn't have as much of success. UNT had one win. The Mean Green's Sophia Hummel won 6-2, 6-1 over a Cougar opponent.
"After not being able to play on day one, we were certainly excited to get out to the courts and compete," said assistant coach Rodrigo de Almeida who is in Houston with the team. "Regardless of a rain delay, we came out strong winning two out of the three doubles. Jasmine and Maria displayed a huge amount of resilience throughout their match and were able to get a great win against opponents from University of Houston. Liisa and Saki also faced opponents from University of Houston and fought really well to come out on top at the end. They keep finding ways to win and that shows how tough they are. Likhitha and Kexuan face opponents from Rice and played a very tough set just to come out short. They did bring the best out of one another and already showed great potential after only their first match ever together."
Due to the weather, the singles competition was moved to Rice for the singles. The crazy situation made it tough for everyone.
"The fight was still their for the entire team and I'm proud of each one of them," de Almeida said. "Sophia Hummel pulled out an amazing win against an opponent from University of Houston. The other players came out short but competed really hard. We were unfortunate to have Kexuan having to retire due to an injury early in the match when she was leading 2-1."
UNT will be back at it again Sunday for another round of singles and doubles.
"After a long rain delay, the team pulled through and left it all out on the court," said Hummel. "Everyone fought extremely hard and played for not just themselves, but also for their teammates. Overall we grew as players and as a team today and have a new opportunity tomorrow."
RESULTS
SINGLES
Rice def. Adams (UNT); 6-4, 0-6, 2-6
Rice def. Vehvilainen (UNT); 6-4, 6-2
Rice def. Oyama (UNT); 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Rice def. Ponomareva (UNT); 6-0, 6-2
Houston retired Zhou (UNT); 2-1
Hummel (UNT) def. Houston; 6-2, 6-1
Rice def. Kalava (UNT); 6-4, 6-2
DOUBLES
Vehvilainen/Oyama def. Houston; 9-7
Adams/ Ponomareva def. Houston; 9-7
Rice def. Kalava/ Zhou(UNT); 9-5
The Mean Green waited hours to complete their doubles competition and did a great job, winning two of three matches.
Liisa Vehvilainen and Saki Oyama defeated a Houston opponent 9-7 and Maria Ponomareva and Jasmine Adams also took care of a Houston opponent. The second UNT doubles team also won 9-7.
In singles, the Mean Green didn't have as much of success. UNT had one win. The Mean Green's Sophia Hummel won 6-2, 6-1 over a Cougar opponent.
"After not being able to play on day one, we were certainly excited to get out to the courts and compete," said assistant coach Rodrigo de Almeida who is in Houston with the team. "Regardless of a rain delay, we came out strong winning two out of the three doubles. Jasmine and Maria displayed a huge amount of resilience throughout their match and were able to get a great win against opponents from University of Houston. Liisa and Saki also faced opponents from University of Houston and fought really well to come out on top at the end. They keep finding ways to win and that shows how tough they are. Likhitha and Kexuan face opponents from Rice and played a very tough set just to come out short. They did bring the best out of one another and already showed great potential after only their first match ever together."
Due to the weather, the singles competition was moved to Rice for the singles. The crazy situation made it tough for everyone.
"The fight was still their for the entire team and I'm proud of each one of them," de Almeida said. "Sophia Hummel pulled out an amazing win against an opponent from University of Houston. The other players came out short but competed really hard. We were unfortunate to have Kexuan having to retire due to an injury early in the match when she was leading 2-1."
UNT will be back at it again Sunday for another round of singles and doubles.
"After a long rain delay, the team pulled through and left it all out on the court," said Hummel. "Everyone fought extremely hard and played for not just themselves, but also for their teammates. Overall we grew as players and as a team today and have a new opportunity tomorrow."
RESULTS
SINGLES
Rice def. Adams (UNT); 6-4, 0-6, 2-6
Rice def. Vehvilainen (UNT); 6-4, 6-2
Rice def. Oyama (UNT); 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Rice def. Ponomareva (UNT); 6-0, 6-2
Houston retired Zhou (UNT); 2-1
Hummel (UNT) def. Houston; 6-2, 6-1
Rice def. Kalava (UNT); 6-4, 6-2
DOUBLES
Vehvilainen/Oyama def. Houston; 9-7
Adams/ Ponomareva def. Houston; 9-7
Rice def. Kalava/ Zhou(UNT); 9-5