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Sports

Back on the war path again

Cougars prepare for a tough two-game road trip

by IKECHI ACHILEFU
The Daily Cougar

The UH tennis team has had a successful outing in each of its last two home matches, thumping Central Arkansas 7-0 and pulling out a gutsy 4-3 victory over Illinois. The home cooking stops this weekend, however.

The Cougars will hit the road this weekend for matches against Conference USA foe East Carolina and College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. Houston will face ECU (14-6) at 11 a.m. today and College of Charleston (11-4) at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Monday's victory over Illinois was one of the Cougars' biggest victories this season.

UH head coach John Severance said that the win instilled confidence among his players.

"This was a crucial win for our confidence, (which we need) to take on the road to Charleston," Severance said.

The team has been anchored by senior Loli Gomez and junior Leila Salek all season , but freshman Neila Starratt stepped her game up in a big way against Illinois. Her singles victory clinched the win for the team. 

"She is the type of player I want out on the court with the score tied 3-3," said Severance. 

This weekend marks the second time the Cougars leave the state for a pair of matches.

The first came three weeks ago when they traveled to Memphis, Tenn., to take on C-USA rivals Memphis and Southern Miss. After coasting to a 7-0 victory versus Memphis, the Cougars dropped a heartbreaker to Southern Miss 4-3. 

Severance admitted his team was not as well prepared for the second match as they should have been. 

"We beat Southern Miss last season and we didn't take them as seriously as we should have. We know how it felt to lose that match, and I am confident that we won't make the same mistake twice," Severance said. 

The Cougars are 11-5 overall and sport a 1-2 record in C-USA. With only two conference games remaining, today's match is that much more important. 

"We need to play well in every match, but especially in conference matches. After East Carolina, Texas El-Paso is the last one, and we need to win both of those matches," Severance said. 

ECU may have a personal vendetta against the Cougars that dates back to last season. UH defeated the Pirates 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2006 C-USA Tournament.

"East Carolina is an important match," Severance said. "They're going to be ready to play us after we knocked them out of the conference tournament last season. We just have to do our job and be ready to play." 

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