May 10, 2014
Box Score | Highlights 
THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas - For the ninth time in 10 years, the Baylor women's tennis team is headed to the NCAA Championships round of 16, after a 4-1 victory against No. 20 Rice on Saturday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
The 13th-ranked Lady Bears (26-6) earned the doubles point for the 16th straight contest by taking wins on courts two and three.
Ema Burgic and Kiah Generette got things started with an 8-3 victory over Alison Ho and Dominique Harmath at the No. 2 spot. However, Rice battled back as Victoria Kisialeva and Jordaan Sanford fell to the 54th-ranked tandem of Natalie Beazant and Liat Zimmermann, 8-3, at the top of the lineup.
Clinching the point for BU, the 84th-ranked tandem of Blair Shankle and Alex Clay dispatched of Solomiya Zinko and Katherine Ip, 8-6 on court three. The Lady Bear tandem went up 4-0 in the match, but Rice stormed back to cut the lead to 6-5. From that point, three holds in a row gave BU the 8-6 victory and the doubles point.
In singles action, Clay carried over the momentum from the doubles with a resounding 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ho at the bottom of the lineup. Shankle quickly followed her partner's lead with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph at the No. 4 spot over Zimmerman to put Baylor up 3-0.
Forty minutes later, the Owls got their only point of the match as the 46th-ranked Sanford had her 16-match win streak broken with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to No. 114 Ip on court three.
The Rice rally was ended as the 81st-ranked Burgic downed No. 101 Harmath, 7-6(3), 6-4 at the No. 2 spot.
The loss ends Rice's season with a 19-7 record.
To stay current on all things Baylor Women's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorWTennis
STAT OF THE DAY
3 - the number of times Baylor has beaten Rice this season. Earlier this year, the Lady Bears claimed a 6-1 win in Waco on Feb. 8 and then a 4-3 victory in Houston on April 9 over the Owls.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Baylor improved to 26-6 on the season and has now won 16 straight matches.
- BU is 29-16 all-time in NCAA action and 26-10 under Scrivano.
- The Lady Bears will play in the NCAA Championships round of 16 for the 10th time in program history.
- Baylor is now 9-1 in the second round under Scrivano and 16-0 when playing NCAA matches at home.
- Baylor is 25-0 when winning the doubles point this season.
- Burgic has won 10 straight singles matches.
- Burgic has provided the clinching point in four of Baylor's last five matches.
- Clay and Shankle have earned 13 victories in a row as a doubles duo.
- Burgic and Generette have now won 12 straight matches as a tandem.
- Rice still leads the all-time series between the two teams 12-9.
TOP QUOTE #1
"Rice is just a great team. They just battled us in every match and every situation. They pushed us to the limit, but I am really, really proud with the way the ladies competed. Our girls are exceptional." - Head coach Joey Scrivano on the match against Rice
TOP QUOTE #2
"This is one of my favorite teams, because I think so many people did not expect them to do much. They have put in the work and every win that they have gotten they have deserved it." - Scrivano on his squad
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will now face fourth-ranked Virginia on Thursday, May 15, at 11 a.m. CT in Athens, Ga., in the NCAA Championships round of 16.
