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Sports

Freshman seals victory over Illinois

Starratt comes up big in the clutch to help UH improve to 11-5 on the season 

by CHIEF ACHILEFU
The Daily Cougar

The UH tennis team grinded out a thrilling 4-3 home victory over Illinois on Monday afternoon at the John E. Hoff Courts.

The doubles point played heavily into the Cougars' success. Senior Loli Gomez and junior Leila Salek started things off with an 8-4 victory at the No. 1 position. 

Freshman Anna Djananova and senior Sonja Nikolic kept the momentum going with a 9-7 come-from-behind victory in their match, which locked up the doubles point for the Cougars. That put Houston ahead 1-0.

"The doubles point was a very crucial part of the match," UH head coach John Severance said. "We were down a couple of match points and we responded very well."

In singles action, Salek continued doing what she is growing accustomed to -- beating her opponent in straight sets. She cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 victory. 

Freshman Vicki Simpson put the Cougars ahead 2-0 after she retired her singles opponent after falling behind 5-2.

Freshman Neila Starratt was the brightest star for the Cougars. With the match tied 3-3, the team put its hopes on Starratt, who faced off against Illinois' Kristina Minor.

Starratt didn't disappoint. She took the first set 6-3 and claimed a dramatic 7-6 (5) victory in the second set that secured the match for the Cougars.

UH improved to 11-5 with the victory, and Illinois fell to 2-7. 

"This was a bigger win for me than anyone realizes," Starratt said. "I had to play to win. When you play not to lose, you think too much, and that's it." 

Severance was proud of how his young freshman responded under pressure. 

"You can't replace the kind of experience she gained today," he said. "For a freshman to clinch the match versus a Big Ten school like Illinois is huge for our team." 

The Cougars will travel to Charleston, S.C., to take on Conference USA foe East Carolina on Friday and College of Charleston on Saturday.

Severance recognized the importance of these matches. 

"We knocked East Carolina out of the conference tournament last year, so we know that'll be fresh on their minds," he said. "We're going to approach this trip with the utmost importance."

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