University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
<b> Texas State
No. 70 Tennis Moves Past Texas State
3/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
March 4, 2006
HOUSTON - Sonja Nikolic stormed past Sumarie Muller 6-1 in the third set to complete a 4-3 comeback victory for the No. 70 University of Houston tennis team over Texas State Saturday afternoon at Hoff Courts.
With the victory, Nikolic snapped a personal five-match losing streak.
"I was proud of Sonja's positive attitude to dismantle her opponent (in the third set) when the match was on the line," head coach John Severance said. "This is something that can pull her out of the slump she's been in. She became solely positive in the third set and got the team a much-needed win."
The Cougars (7-2) came back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits during the afternoon. Vicky Simpson kept the Cougars alive and drew the match even at 3-3 with a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4 victory in the No. 6 position.
After dropping the doubles point for only the second time this season, Kami Miller cruised to a convincing 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles. The win for Miller moved her into No. 8 all-time in career singles victories.
"My goal is to always go out there and win so if that makes the record books then that's an extra bonus," Miller said. "I'm out there for the team. This kind of thing on the side makes it better."
"Kami deserves everything she gets," Severance said. "She is the definition of what the philosophy of this program is about."
Brianna Bateup also notched a strong 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles.
The Cougars conclude the weekend facing off against Texas-Arlington (0-5). First serve against the Mavericks is slated for 11am at Hoff Courts. Fans can attend all home UH tennis matches for free.
"We're hoping to be back to full strength tomorrow," Severance said. "It's tough to win matches when you're not at full strength. UTA is a strong opponent because four of their five losses have come against Top 75 programs."
No. 70 Houston 4, Texas State 3
Doubles
No. 1 - Chafitz/Ellis (Texas State) d. Nikolic/Reimer (UH) (8-5)
No. 2 - Bateup/Miller (UH) d. Cucciniello/Sirola (Texas State) (8-3)
No. 3 - Amo/Muller (Texas State) d. Gomez/Simpson (UH) (8-6)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
No. 1 - Ellis (Texas State) d. Gomez (UH) (6-3, 6-2)
No. 2 - Bateup (UH) d. Chafitz (Texas State) (6-3, 6-2)
No. 3 - Miller (UH) d. Sirola (Texas State) (6-0, 6-2)
No. 4 - Amo (Texas State) d. Reimer (UH) (6-4, 6-1)
No. 5 - Nikolic (UH) d. Muller (Texas State) (7-5, 2-6, 6-1)
No. 6 - Simpson (UH) d. Cucciniello (Texas State) (6-3, 6-4)
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 2, 1, 6, 5
Players Mentioned
