HOUSTON, Texas - The William and Mary women's tennis team suffered a 5-2 setback at No. 27 Rice on Saturday afternoon. The Tribe receive singles wins from senior
Anik Cepeda and junior
Jeltje Loomans, but could not overcome the nationally-ranked Owls. W&M fell to 12-4 on the year, while Rice ran its wins streak to seven matches in improving to 12-4.
Rice won all three doubles matches to take the opening point of the contest. The Owls claimed straight set wins at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 singles positions to clinch the win over the Green and Gold.
Cepeda pushed her win streak to nine matches, dispatching of Katie Gater, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 4 spot. The Tribe senior improved her team-best singles ledger to 22-11 overall, including a squad-leading 14-2 mark in dual-match play. Cepeda is 6-1 at the No. 4 singles position.
A pair of matches went three sets with the Tribe taking the No. 3 post thanks to the efforts of Loomans. The Green and Gold junior won the opening set, 7-5, from Liat Zimmermann, before the Rice player claimed the second, 6-4. With the team result already decided, Loomans outlasted Zimmermann, 10-8, in the third-set super tiebreaker. She improved to 9-8 on the year with her eight dual-match victory.
W&M will wrap up its five-match road swing when it travels crosstown to face Houston on Sunday, March 24. The match carries a noon ET start at the Houston Country Club.
#27 Rice 5, #44 William and Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 – #59 Natalie Beazant (Rice) def.
Maria Belaya (W&M) – 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 – #105 Dominique Harmath (Rice) def.
Leeza Nemchinov (W&M) – 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 –
Jeltje Loomans (W&M) def. Liat Zimmermann (Rice) – 7-5, 4-6, 10-8
No. 4 –
Anik Cepeda (W&M) def. Katie Gater (Rice) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 – Kimberly Anicete (Rice) def.
Hope Johnson (W&M) – 0-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 – Solomlya Zinko (Rice) def.
Sydney Smith (W&M) – 6-4, 6-1
Finishing Order: 1, 6, 2*, 4, 5, 3
Doubles
No. 1 – #30 Beazant/Harmath (Rice) def. #5 Belaya/Loomans (W&M) – 8-4
No. 2 – Gater/Zimmermann (Rice) def. Cepeda/Johnson (W&M) – 8-2
No. 3 – Trigo/Zinko (Rice) def. Nemchinov/Smith (W&M) – 8-2
Finishing Order: 3, 2*, 1
