University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
East Carolina (C-USA Quarterfinals)
Tennis Moves Past East Carolina in C-USA Quarterfinals
4/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
April 21, 2006
GARLAND - Kami Miller reeled off four consecutive games in the second set to claim a 7-5, 6-1 victory, lifting the third-seeded University of Houston tennis team past East Carolina 4-1 Friday afternoon in the Conference USA quarterfinals at the Garland Tennis Center.
"We're pleased with the victory and being able to protect our seed," head coach John Severance said. "It wasn't our best tennis, but it was good enough to advance."
Houston (20-4) has won six consecutive opening matches and advanced to the C-USA Semifinals for the fourth consecutive season. The Cougars will take on crosstown foe Rice at 2pm Saturday.
UH opened the match by claiming the doubles point for the 18th time in 22 matches in which doubles were played.
Sarah Reimer and Sonja Nikolic emerged from the courts first with an 8-3 victory for the Cougars at the bottom of the lineup, but ECU's top pair of Gillie Bailey and Kirsten Buchanan notched an 8-5 win, forcing a winner-take-all match in the No. 2 slot.
Down 6-5, Houston's Kami Miller and Yolandi Terblanche reeled off three consecutive games to clinch the point and gave the Cougars a 1-0 advantage heading into singles play.
"Miller and Terblanche had a tricky opponent, but they were able to take control of the match when it counted the most," Severance said. "I was very impressed with Sarah and Sonja's effort. They got us started on the right foot."
Houston extended the advantage to 2-0 when Terblanche stormed to a 6-0, 6-2 win at the bottom of the lineup.
The Pirates trimmed the deficit down to 2-1, as Mireia Gol knocked off Sonja Nikolic 6-0, 6-4 in the No. 3 hole.
Loli Gomez stopped ECU's momentum rolling to a 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 2 slot putting the Cougars ahead 3-1.
Houston advances to the semifinals where the Cougars will face off against crosstown rival Rice. The Owls came back from a 3-1 deficit to knock second-seeded Marshall 4-3.
First serve against Rice is slated for 2pm. Live stats will be available on UHCougars.com
"We're going to be ready to place to play Rice period," Severance said. "I'm excited about getting the opportunity to play a crosstown opponent. It's not a rivalry since we haven't been able to play them since 2003. Tomorrow's match is going to be about heart and pride. If we play our game with guts, we'll be successful and come out on top."
C-USA Quarterfinals
No. 3 Houston 4, No. 6 East Carolina 1
Doubles
No. 1 - Bailey/Buchanan (ECU) d. Gomez/Bateup (UH) (8-5)
No. 2 - Miller/Terblanche (UH) d. Gol/Borges (ECU) (8-6)
No. 3 - Reimer/Nikolic (UH) d. Thomas/Dumitru (ECU) (8-3)
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
No. 1 - Bateup (UH) vs. Dumitru (ECU) - DNF
No. 2 - Gomez (UH) d. Bailey (ECU) (6-2, 6-1)
No. 3 - Gol (ECU) d. Nikolic (UH) (6-0, 6-4)
No. 4 - Miller (UH) d. Buchanan (ECU) (7-5, 6-1)
No. 5 - Simpson (UH) vs. Borges (ECU) - DNF
No. 6 - Terblanche (UH) d. Thomas (ECU) (6-0, 6-2)
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 2, 4
