HOUSTON – Auburn women's tennis sophomore Yu Chen won her singles flight Sunday to highlight the Tigers' weekend at the Rice Invitational.
"One thing we will always do here at Auburn is compete," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "When we face adversity, we will embrace the opportunity to grow, focusing more on the solution than the problem. We were pushed this weekend, and that is imperative to our development both as individuals and as a team. The more we trust our preparation and hold ourselves to the highest standard in practice, the more seamless the transition will be to executing under pressure. Overall, the team had another great weekend."
Chen, who won a pair of matches Saturday, defeated Rice's Anna Bowtell 6-3, 6-3, in the Flight 2 final to finish off an unbeaten weekend in singles and wrap up her first fall tournament title.
The Tigers got one other win in singles on the day as junior Lindsay Song won a match over Sam Houston's Lusine Chobanyan, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (6).
In doubles, the team of Chen and freshman Carolyn Ansari won two matches Sunday. They defeated Ndunda/Pedemonti of Houston 6-4, then earned a win over Takeuchi/Akimova of UT-Arlington 6-3.
Fall play continues next weekend as the squad splits between a pair of events. Several players will travel to Waco, Texas, for the Baylor H.E.B. Invitational, which runs Friday through Sunday. Others will compete in the ITA All-American Championships, which begin Saturday in Tulsa, Okla.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn Results – Rice Invitational
Sunday, Sept. 29
Singles
Yu Chen (AU) def. Anna Bowtell (Rice), 6-3, 6-3
Constandena Nicolau (SHSU) def. Caraline Scheufler (AU), 2-0, def.
Lindsay Song (AU) def. Lusine Chobanyan (SHSU), 6-1, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (6)
Antonia Balzert (Colorado) def. Carolyn Ansari (AU), 7-6 (3), 6-2
Doubles
Ansari/Chen (AU) def. Ndunda/Pedemonti (Houston), 6-4
Chobanyan/Gerritsen (SHSU) def. Song/Scheufler (AU), 6-0
Ansari/Chen (AU) def. Takeuchi/Akimova (UTA), 6-3