University of Houston
Arizona
Houston Falls in Spring Home Opener to Arizona
2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
HOUSTON â€" The No. 44 Houston Cougar tennis team fell short of a victory at their first home match of the spring season against No. 65 Arizona losing 7-0 on Friday at John E Hoff Courts.
"We played some really clean doubles," head coach Courtney Steinbock said. "We gave ourselves the opportunity to win the doubles point, and then towards the end we fell away from the game plan. With a team like this, the doubles point is really crucial for the momentum, especially with two players out."
Injuries had a significant impact on today's match as the Cougars started the day off missing Angela Lorenzo and Mina Markovic. Without two of their top six players, Houston was unable to play on all three doubles courts. However, Houston began with a quick win in the doubles competition with Tina Rupert and Maria Cardenas defeating Samantha Czarniak and Inge Hendrikx 6-2 on court two.
The doubles point came down to court 1, where Despoina Vogasari and Rocio Martin battled Lauren Marker and Shayne Austin in a close tiebreaker. However, the Cougars ultimately fell 6-7 (6-8), putting Arizona up 1-0.
With only five healthy players, the Cougars were unable to fill the No. 6 singles spot instantly putting them down 2-0 to begin singles competition. Cardenas was the first Cougar to be defeated by the Wildcats, falling 0-6, 2-6 to Chypyha. Almost simultaneously Arizona followed with another win as Marnie Stokes fell to Czarniak 2-6, 0-6 on court five.
Down 0-4, the Cougars continued to play tough on the first three courts. Martin and Rupert were the next to finish, both falling 3-6, 4-6. No. 34 Vogasari was the final Cougar in action, as she took on Marker at the No. 1 singles spot. Vogasari won the second set 6-4 after falling in the first set 4-6. With Arizona leading 6-0, the match went into a tiebreaker where Vogasari fell 6-10.
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
The Cougars will return to John E. Hoff Courts on Sunday, Feb. 7 to take on the No. 51 Oregon Ducks at 12 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
