University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
<b> Stephen F. Austin
Tennis Blanks SFA
1/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Jan. 28, 2007
HOUSTON - The University of Houston tennis team shut down Stephen F. Austin 7-0 Sunday afternoon at Hoff Courts on the UH campus.
Houston (3-0) pushes its home winning streak to 21 matches dating back to the 2005 season and have jumped out to a 3-0 start in three of the last four seasons.
The Cougars solidified the doubles point as the pairs of Rebecca Franzi and Sonja Nikolic along with Vicky Simpson and Neila Starratt tallied 8-2 and 8-3 wins at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The No. 1 team of Loli Gomez and Leila Salek lost a hard-fought 8-7 (7-3) decision.
"I was a little worried after the doubles point because we came out flat in a couple of the doubles matches," head coach John Severance said. "However, it didn't carry over to singles play. We got a little spark in between (doubles and singles) and took care of business."
Gomez rebounded from a 0-2 singles day Friday and stormed to a 6-2, 6-0 win at the top of the lineup to extend the Houston advantage to 2-0.
"It was good to see Loli get back on track (after Friday)," Severance said. "She hasn't been able to practice that much over the last couple of weeks with the weather and her class schedule. This is the type of match she needs to boost her confidence."
After falling behind 2-1 in the opening set, Salek dominated the rest of the way at the No. 2 slot, taking 11 of the final 12 games of the match for a 6-2, 6-1 win.
Simpson clinched the match for the Cougars at the No. 5 spot, corralling a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
"We're still learning as a team," Severance said. "The girls were a little more vocal today in their support of each other than they were on Friday. They're starting to get closer as a group."
Nikolic along with Anna Djananova and Franzi picked up victories to complete the sweep for Houston.
Severance announced after the match that Houston will face off against Trinity Valley Community College and Tarleton State Friday at Lee College before heading to No. 28 Texas A&M Saturday. The matches against TVCC and Tarleton State are scheduled for 10am and 2pm.
"We're got a couple of things to fine-tune on Friday before we head to Texas A&M," Severance said. "A&M is a strong program, and we're excited about the opportunity to face them."
