The Cougars came out to dominate from the first serve, taking down in-state rival SMU 5-2 Saturday afternoon in Dallas for the second consecutive day.
For UH (13-3, 3-0 The American), the win marked its first-ever victory at SMU (6-10, 2-3) and the first win over the Mustangs since 1998, snapping what was a 10-match losing skid.
“SMU is an extremely talented team who is finally healthy after being injured all season and challenged us on every court,” said head coach Patrick Sullivan. “We expected a very competitive match and played it as if it were the conference semifinals in Florida in a month, which today very well may have been a preview of.
“On a personal note, the entire team has had this one circled on the calendar for some time and take a lot of pride in ending SMU’s streak against the Cougars and starting a new streak of our own. Overall, I’m very proud of the effort today.”
The Cougars made a statement early. Freshman Despoina Vogasari and junior Elena Kordolaimi teamed up to take the doubles matchup on court one, 8-4.
With Houston up 1-0, Vogasari (18-5) kept the positive momentum rolling in singles play, as she brought home the win from the No. 1 spot, 6-2, 6-4 over Vaszilisza Bulgakova.
