The No. 19 Longhorns beat No. 39 Rice 5-2 by way of a doubles sweep and a strong singles outing on Friday
in Houston.

Texas quickly posted doubles victories and never looked back. Junior Alex Hilliard and freshman Soren Hess-Olesen beat Rice’s Harry Fowler and Justin To at first doubles with a score of 8-2. Daniel Whitehead and David Holiner took the second 8-2, and Jacoby Lewis and Sudanwa Sitaram won the third, 8-7 in a tiebreaker.

“Our effort in doubles was really good,” Texas head coach Michael Center said. “We were very aggressive at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles. We were cutting a lot of points off at the net, and our energy level was really good. I was really pleased with those two doubles teams. “

Sitaram won his singles match from the third spot, freshman Lloyd Glasspool won it in the fifth and Whitehead in the second, but Texas clinched the team victory at first singles, where Hess-Olesen beat Rice’s Harry Fowler, 6-4, 6-4.

“We’ve talked about fighting and competing for every ball,” Center said. “Our top three guys did a really good job tonight. I was really pleased with their performances and the way they competed. Lloyd [Glasspool] was very good at the end of his match today, too. We’re fighting hard and have a lot to learn, but this was a good win for us.”

The Longhorns host Maryland on Saturday at UT’s Penick-Allison Tennis Center as part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.

Printed on Monday, January 23, 2012 as: UT sweeps Rice on road for second win in a week