WT: Mavs head to Rice hoping to keep momentum
9/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 24, 2015
Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike
ARLINGTON, Texas - With just two tournaments remaining until the ITA Texas Regional Championships, UT Arlington women's tennis heads to Houston for the Rice Invitational hoping to build on momentum.
The Mavericks capped off a successful outing in their last time on the court with Angeles de los Rios and Astrid Gehre capturing the doubles title as well as Elizabeth Thoms reaching the semifinals at the Midland Fall Invitational.
"They are very exciting," UT Arlington coach Diego Benitez said. "They had a great tournament in Midland. Everyone that went there played well in both singles and doubles. They are going to use that as momentum to head down to Rice and look to continue to play good tennis."
Benitez plans on continuing the trend of mixing up his doubles pairings despite the opportunity to capture back-to-back championships as a team. The UTA coach is using the fall schedule to see how the partnerships work on the court as he plans on his squad when match play begins in the spring.
"I want to make them feel comfortable with playing with any partner," he said. "It will allow me to make a better strategic decision. It also doesn't give an opportunity to the opponent to scout or get ready for us because they don't know what to scout and what is coming."
In 2014's edition of the Rice Invitational, the Mavericks captured the consolation bracket championship, as former UTA player Verena Scott would go undefeated on Day 2. Out of the returning competition, de los Rios has the best success on the singles side, as she would reach the consolation finals in the main draw.
Benitez said that he is looking for a similar result this time around with goals of his players making it into the quarterfinals and beyond to improve their individual rankings. The South Region sits as the highest-ranked region in the ITA rankings, a feat that Benitez holds as an important part of the team's competition.
"That is one of my main points when I recruit," Benitez said. "We are the toughest region in the United States. You want to be able to face quality competition day in and day out because that is how you get better."
Follow @UTAMavs on Twitter for information from the tournament as well as updated draws and results.
