Cougar sports services
The No. 2-seeded Houston Cougars tennis team was upset by No. 3 seed Marquette 5-4 in the semifinals of the Conference USA Women's Tennis Championships Saturday in Tampa, Fla.
Marquette won four of six singles matches, meaning the Cougars would have had to win all three doubles matches to advance.
Cougars Susanne Andersson and Kristen Paris beat Ana Fernandez and Kamila Hornacek 8-2 and Jane Brown and Sarah Bolle beat Jessie Klick and Sara Fernandez 8-1, but Luciane Kelbert and Julie Stone fell 8-1 in their match to give the Golden Eagles the victory.
Kelbert and Brown won the only two singles matches for Houston. Kelbert beat Joanna Bauza 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 and Brown beat Klick 6-0, 6-1.
The Cougars fell to 17-5 on the season and Marquette upped their record to 17-5.
The loss kept UH athletics from winning its second conference title in four days - the Cougars golf team won the C-USA Men's Golf Championship Thursday - and it ended the chance for the Houston tennis team to win its first conference title of any kind.
After receiving a bye in the first round, Houston throttled Alabama-Birmingham 5-0 Friday.
Andersson, Kelbert, Stone, Brown and Mette Sigmundstad all won their matches without losing a set. Paris' match was stopped after Sigmundstad clinched the team win. One score that said volumes on how the day was going for UAB was when Brown won a laugher 6-0, 6-0 against Cara Besch.
Andersson, Kelbert and Sigmundstad, the top three seeded players for UH, are all underclassmen and can return next season for another run at a C-USA title.