Undefeated Houston tennis begins Big 12 play with wins over Utah, BYU

Houston tennis carried its undefeated preseason into conference play with victories over Utah and BYU. With two Big 12 victories, the Cougars have secured their highest conference win total since joining the league.

The Cougars edged Utah 4-3 on Thursday before sweeping BYU 4-0 on Saturday.

Cougars survive Utah’s comeback push

In singles, junior Petja Drame (6-1, 6-2) and senior Sophie Schouten (6-2, 6-2) pushed Houston to a 3-0 lead before Utah rallied with three straight wins to even the match at 3-3.

The deciding point came down to senior Chems Doha Zeghlouli, who clinched the team victory with a 6-4 win in the third set.

Houston opened with strong doubles play as junior Elizaveta Morozova and Drame won 6-0, followed by a 6-1 victory from Schouten and Zeghlouli to secure the point.

Refocused Houston sweeps BYU

Houston again claimed the doubles point Saturday against BYU after Schouten and Zeghlouli won 6-1 and Morozova and Drame secured a 7-2 tiebreak victory.

Seeing the way the doubles matches went, coach Katarina Adamovic challenged her team mid-match, shouting, “Disciplined Houston, you have to be better than this,” as the Cougars regrouped from their narrow victory and carried that urgency into singles play.

Schouten (6-4, 7-5), Drame (6-3, 6-4) and Zeghlouli (7-6, 6-2) each won in straight sets to complete the 4-0 sweep.

Houston improved to 11-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play and will travel to Tempe, Ariz., to face Arizona State on March 6 and Arizona on March 8. 

With two wins, the Cougars can tie the best start in program history, secured in 1990.