March 11, 1999

HOUSTON - Led by junior Elle Lewis' 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over junior Jessica Zaganczyke at #1 singles, the 53rd-ranked Rice University women's tennis team defeated 48th-ranked North Carolina 5-4 Wednesday evening at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium on the Rice campus.

After the teams split six singles matches, the Owls captured close decisions at two of the three doubles matches to earn the 5-4 win. All three doubles matches were very close as UNC won 9-7 at #1 doubles and Rice won 8-6 at #2 doubles and 9-8 in a tiebreaker at #3 doubles. With the exception of Lewis' win at #1 singles, all the other singles matches were decided in straight sets with the bottom three players in UNC lineup winning. Sophomore Courtney Zalinski won at #4 singles and juniors Cena Hackler and Jeni Burnette won at #5 and #6 singles, respectively.

North Carolina fell to 5-3 overall on the season, while Rice improved to 9-2 overall. Carolina will play at 39th-ranked Houston on Friday.

FINAL SCORE: #53 RICE 5, #48 NORTH CAROLINA 4

Singles Play
1. Elle Lewis (RU) d. Jessica Zaganczyk (UNC), 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
2. Charlotte Feasby (RU) d. Sarah Hawkins (UNC), 6-2, 6-1
3. Justyna Gudzowska (RU) d. Caroline Hill (UNC), 6-4, 6-2
4. Courtney Zalinski (UNC) d. Erin Waters (RU), 7-5, 6-2
5. Cena Hackler (UNC) d. Judith Hagedorn (RU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Jeni Burnette (UNC) d. Natalie Briaud (RU), 6-1, 6-3

Doubles Play
1. Cena Hackler/Jessica Zaganczyk (UNC) d. Natalie Briaud/Charlotte Feasby (RU), 9-7
2. Justyna Gudzowska/Erin Waters (RU) d. Caroline Hill/Courtney Zalinski (UNC), 8-6
3. Judith Hagedorn/Elle Lewis (RU) d. Jeni Burnette/Sarah Hawkins (UNC), 9-8

Records: North Carolina 5-3, Rice 9-2