The Cougars’ final road trip of the season was bittersweet, defeating Oral Roberts 5-0, but falling to Tulsa 7-0 and North Texas 4-3. They ended the weekend with an overall record of 12-10.
"We’ve had four or five close matches where its just been points that separate the win and the loss, and that’s hard to swallow," said UH head coach John Severance.
Cougar freshman Lucy Forward teamed up with senior Leila Salek to defeat North Texas’ freshman duo Madura Ranganathan and Ashley Akin 8-5 in the No. 1 doubles competition. In the No. 2 doubles, junior Vicky Simpson and sophomore Neila Starratt fought to the finish, as the final point went in favor of North Texas junior Rachel Wilhelm and freshman Narine Kazarova and the Eagles won 9-8.
Houston junior duo Lynley Wasson and Jordan McCombs were also defeated 8-5.
"We let pressure get to us in doubles," Severance said. "We had two opportunities in the No. 2 and 3 doubles and didn’t take advantage of that."
During the singles competition, Salek beat sophomore Catalina Cruz 7-6, 6-2, while Starratt beat Kazarova 6-3, 6-2 and Simpson overpowered freshman Amy Joubert 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 5 match.
The pressure was persistent for Houston as Forward fell short to Ranganathan at No. 1 singles competition, 6-1, 7-5. Finishing up the matches, the Eagles Wilhelm beat freshman Joanna Kacprzyk 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6).
Friday afternoon, Houston competed against the defending Conference USA champions Tulsa, with the Golden Hurricane sweeping the Cougars 7-0.
"We knew the intensity would be higher against Tulsa, because Tulsa’s a good team. We competed against them very well," Severance said. "If we could take and steal the doubles point away from the defending conference champions, I think we would have come out of the singles with a bit more of a spark.
"We still have a chance to win three matches this weekend and finish the regular season at 15-10. That’s pretty good and (we’re) looking forward to conference."
The Cougars will host three matches at John E. Hoff Courts on Saturday against Tarleton State, Prairie View A’M and Southern University.
