Sports
 

UH streak to get test against Rice and TCU

By Barrett Goldsmith
The Daily Cougar

The Cougars have struggled to find an identity this season, but this weekend should be enough motivation for the real UH tennis team to emerge. 

Houston's streaky season -- a 4-1 start followed by a five-match losing streak and a current three-match winning streak -- will kick into a higher gear Friday, when the Cougars face crosstown rival Rice at 3 p.m. in the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium on the Rice campus. The Lady Owls are 8-6 on the season and ranked No. 58 in the nation. 

The Lady Horned Frogs (11-6) are ranked No. 27 in the nation, having just completed a 10-game home stand in which they went 9-1, losing only to No. 33 Oklahoma 4-3. 

But the Cougars have played well of late, winning their previous three competitions by a combined score of 16 games to three. 

Houston defeated No. 75 Utah 5-0 (though doubles matches were cancelled because of rain) March 15. The following day, the Cougars knocked off No. 73 South Florida 5-2. The Cougars then defeated Conference USA foe Louisville 6-1 on March 19. 

The Cougars have been particularly effective in doubles play, winning every doubles match in the past two matches. The No. 1 paring of junior Biljana Dimovska and sophomore Miranda Foley has dropped only two points in the last two matches, winning by a combined scored of 16-2. 

The team of junior Diana Miller and senior Karine Urbin has held its own recently, as has the sophomore pairing of Yolandi Terblanche and Kami Miller.

 Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu