Feb. 11, 2007
HOUSTON, Texas -
The No. 75 <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Auburn Tigers made short work of the No. 62 Rice Owls (2-4) on Sunday, breezing to a 6-1 victory at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium in Houston.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
Auburn won each of the first six singles sets en route to the win, which moves the Tigers to 3-1 overall on the season.
"We came out with a lot of enthusiasm today," head coach Tim Gray said. "I thought we played extremely well and really took the match to them. This is a great step forward for our program."
After dropping the first doubles match on court two, the Tigers took the next two matches to earn the doubles point.
Fani Chifchieva and Jil Hastenrath defeated Braid/Dao, 8-4 in the No. 3 spot, while Melissa Koning and Alex Haney won on the first court, 8-4.
Auburn continued to roll into singles, winning 11 of 14 sets. On court one, 84th ranked Fani Chifchieva blew past Christine Dao, 6-1, 6-1. In the No. 2 spot, Melissa Koning had to go to a tiebreaker to beat Julie Chao, 7-5, 5-7, (10-5).
Alex Haney completed her weekend with a 2-0 record, after defeating Dominique Karas, 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 3 singles match. Whitney Chappell also finished her weekend undefeated, winning, 6-4, 6-1 over Tiffany Lee. Jil Hastenrath bounced back after Saturday's tough loss to sweep Rebecca Lin, 7-5, 6-2.
The Tigers lone setback came in the No. 6 spot, where Heather Bybee lost a hard fought battle with Emily Braid, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Auburn will head to Atlanta to face No. 1 Georgia Tech on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m.
No. 75 Auburn 6, No. 62 Rice 1
Doubles
1. Koning/Haney (AU) def. Lee/Chao (RU), 8-4
2. Lin/Karas (RU) def. Chappell/Kelly Adams (AU), 8-3
3. Chifchieva/Hastenrath (AU) def. Braid/Dao (RU), 8-4
Singles
1. No. 84 Fani Chifchieva (AU) def. Christine Dao (RU), 6-1, 6-1
2. Melissa Koning (AU) def. Julie Chao (RU), 7-5, 5-7, 10-5
3. Alex Haney (AU) def. Dominique Karas (RU), 6-2, 6-4
4. Whitney Chappell (AU) def. Tiffany Lee (RU), 6-4, 6-1
5. Jil Hastenrath (AU) def. Rebecca Lin (RU), 7-5, 6-2
6. Emily Braid (RU) def. Heather Bybee (AU), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3