Sports

Cougars serve notice

By Emily Davis
The Daily Cougar

No loss hurts worse than one to your chief rival. Just ask the UH football team.

Or menis basketball team.

Or baseball team.

Much to the chagrin of UH fans, all of them tried to beat Rice this year and failed ? the baseball team four times, with one meeting left ? and Cougar fans may have been starting to develop a complex. Canit this school beat Rice at anything?

Ani Longoni and Co. answered yes Wednesday.

Longoni, UHis only senior, whipped Rice's Jeri Gonzalez in straight sets 7-6, 6-1 as the Cougars ended what must have seemed like an interminable drought with a 4-3 win over the Owls in their final tune-up before the C-USA Tournament this weekend.

"I played this girl last spring, and it was a much closer match," Longoni said. "Our team has improved so much since then. Weive improved so much since the beginning of this season, too."

But UH would not have broken the Rice curse and improved to 11-8 if freshman Sandy Blajer had not brought her "A" game to the court. Blajeris 6-4, 6-4 decision over Erica Villalobos was the deciding point in the Cougarsi victory.

Blajer was notified about filling in at No. 6 singles only minutes before her match began. She replaced sophomore Sarah Flood, who aggravated a hip injury during an 8-2 doubles loss with teammate Karine Urbin.

"Coach is always telling us to be emotionally flexible, and thatis what I was," Blajer said.

Teammate Yolandi Terblanche had a big win of her own, beating Yasmin Fisher 6-1, 6-3.

"She just wasnit tough at all," Terblanche said. "I had a good start and stayed focused and saw my way through the match."

The Cougars also gained the doubles point with wins from Longoni and Kami Miller (8-3) and Terblanche and Miranda Foley (8-1). Foley was named C-USAis Player of the Week for the second time this season after her wins against Sam Houston and Texas Tech.

But past performances will be left in the past as the Cougars travel to New Orleans for the Conference USA tournament Saturday through Tuesday. 

With the conference champion hopefuls going at it for four days, the single-elimination tournament provides much more competition than any regular-season matches could.

"The fact that we beat ranked teams (Central Florida and Texas Tech) in the regular season only guarantees us a reasonable seeding," assistant coach John Severance said. "After the tournament begins, itis every team for itself and the entire slate is wiped clean."

UH, seeded No. 3, will face No. 13 Saint Louis in the first round at noon Saturday. 

If the Cougars win, they will play the winner of a South Florida/Charlotte match-up at 3 p.m. Sunday.

"We want to avenge our loss against South Florida," Servance said. "It was such a close match (a 4-3 Bulls win on March 4). We want another chance to play them as the team we are now."

UH has played only three C-USA opponents this season ? Texas Christian, South Florida and Charlotte ? but meeting unfamiliar opponents is not a problem for the young Cougars.

"Winning has become a habit for us," head coach Jennifer Hyde said. "We are on cruise control now and exactly where we want to be. Now we walk out on the court with fewer doubts. We expect a win."

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