April 1, 2005
Results
HOUSTON - The nationally-ranked Rice University men's tennis team proved to be too much to handle for Lamar on Friday night, as the Cardinals dropped a 5-1 non-conference decision to the #32 Owls at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.
The loss was the fifth straight for the Cardinals, who fall to 8-10 on the year. Rice improved to 11-5 overall with its second consecutive victory.
After the Owls' afternoon match with Texas Christian ended late, the Cardinals agreed to cancel the doubles action and play only the six singles matches. LU got off to a rocky start at the No. 1 spot, where Mexico City native Juan Pablo Alatorre fell to #41 Robert Searle, 6-1 and 6-2.
Lamar's No. 2 Emilio Kirby put up a strong fight by taking the first set, 6-3, but he fell victim to Rice's Ralph Knupfer, who posted 6-1, 6-2 wins in the second and third frames. Senior Ignacio Melus slipped to 9-8 on the year at the No. 3 spot, dropping a highly-contested straight set decision to Jason Mok, 7-5 and 7-6.
The Cardinals' lone victory came at the No. 4 position, where Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native Dean Clower took out Take Morita in straight sets, 6-3 and 7-5. It was Clower's ninth victory of the year, tying him with Melus for the team lead.
Brothers Emmanuel and Christian Olivier shared a similar fate at the No. 5 and 6 slots, as both lost straight set matches. Emmanuel lost to RU's Filip Zivojinovic, 6-3, 6-1, while Christian was defeated by Hoony Shin, 6-1 and 6-0.
The Cardinals return to Southland Conference action on Sunday, Apr. 3 with a 9 a.m. match against Texas-Pan American at the Cardinal Courts.
#32 Rice University 5, Lamar University 1
Doubles competition:
Did Not Play
Singles competition:
1. #41 Robert Searle (RICE) def. Juan Pablo Alatorre (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-2
2. Ralph Knupfer (RICE) def. Emilio Kirby (LAMAR) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Jason Mok (RICE) def. Ignacio Melus (LAMAR) 7-5, 7-6
4. Dean Clower (LAMAR) def. Take Morita (RICE) 6-3, 7-5
5. Filip Zivojinovic (RICE) def. Emmanuel Olivier (LAMAR) 6-3, 6-1
6. Hoony Shin (RICE) def. Christian Olivier (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-0
