Feb. 2, 2007

Final Stats

BAYTOWN - The University of Houston tennis team notched a pair of 6-1 victories over Tarleton State and Trinity University Friday at Lee College.

The Cougars improve to 5-0 for only the fifth time in program history and first since the 1990 campaign.

"The biggest thing for our team is that we needed a few more matches under our belt," head coach John Severance said. "You can't match the stress level in practice of playing matches. We also had to battle the elements today with the weather being chilly and windy. I was proud of the way our team responded."

Houston took control of both matches early and won all six doubles matches on the day. The Cougars have won all three doubles matches in four of their first five matches. Loli Gomez and Leila Salek dropped a combined three games in their two matches at the No. 1 position.

The Cougars also were dominant in singles action, losing only two matches. All 10 singles victories came in straight sets and just one set went 7-5.

Salek, from her No. 2 post, along with Sonja Nikolic and Vicky Simpson at the bottom of the lineup lost a combined six games on the day. Rebecca Franzi was right behind the trio, allowing just seven games.

Severance mixed up his singles lineup in both matches as Franzi moved up to the No. 3 spot in the afternoon match. He also flipped Nikolic and Simpson in the No. 5 and No. 6 hole.

"It's early in the season, and we wanted to work with a couple of different looks," Severance said. "We played a smarter brand of high percentage tennis as a team."

Houston returns to the courts Saturday at No. 29 Texas A&M. First serve against the Aggies is set for 3pm. Live stats are available at UHCougars.com