Mean Green Open Fall With Strong Showing

Friday, September 27

Houston, TX

University of North Texas

Rice Invite

Photo by: Rick Yeatts Photography

9/29/2019 7:38:00 PM | Women's Tennis

HOUSTON — The North Texas tennis team concluded its first tournament of the 2019 fall season with three women reaching a singles flight championship round at the Rice Invite.

The team battled rain and lightning all weekend in Houston to have a successful start to the year. Junior Nidhi Surapaneni, who won a flight championship last year at this same event, won her first two matches in straight sets to reach her flight title round, Meanwhile, UNT freshmen Louisa Junghanns and Sophia Hummel also reached their respected flight finals.

"Overall a good start to the fall season," said head coach Sujay Lama who is beginning his 14th season at the helm of the Mean Green tennis program. "We seemed to get better with each match and the one constant was our ability to stay focused on the process and problem solving."

Along with the weather, UNT, who is coming off another winning spring season that had them reached the semifinals of the conference tournament, faced a few knicks and bruises but finished the flight tournament with an overall winning percentage of .555 between singles and doubles.

The Mean Green's success this weekend was led by Surapaneni who used her championship in this tournament last year to springboard into a career season that included her clinching the team's quarterfinal come from behind win over FIU in the C-USA Tournament. Surapaeni, who for the past two seasons was the youngest on the team but now is a veteran of a squad made up of five newcomers, watched this weekend as two of the newcomers shined in their first collegiate tournament.

"It was great to see Sophia and Louisa reach the finals of their flights in their first collegiate tournament," Lama said. Their maturity is what stood out the most."

The two Germen natives, began their college careers with dominating straight set victories against notable opponents. Junghanns beat her Texas State opponent 6-2, 6-2. While Hummel defeated hear Houston opponent 6-3, 6-4.

In her second match, Hummel was forced to battle much tougher, this time against a UT Arlington foe. After a clean first set win, Hummel was forced to go into a third set tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Hummel to an early lead and never looked back as she won it 10-2 and advanced to the finals after a 6-4, 6-7, 10-2 win.

Junghanns also had a much closer second match.

The Baldham, Germany, native needed three sets to grind out a victory aginst her Sam Houston State opponent. Junghanns won her opening set in the second round 6-2, but lost the second set 3-6. In the third set tiebreak, it was even closer but after a back and forth trading of points Junghans prevailed to advance to the finals with a 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 win.

Shin pains prevented Junghanns from continuing and was forced to drop out of the championship match.

Junghanns wasn't the only one battling pain.

Fellow newcomers Maria Ponomareva didn't make the trip due to illness and Hala Khaled Badwy was pulled during her first match for precautionary reasons after a minor injury.

Kexuan Zhou also made her UNT debut this weekend.

In her first match, Zhou narrowly lost to Auburn's Caraline Scheufler. The Mean Green freshman took her Auburn opponent to a third set tiebreak but lost in the third set 10-6. She did however bounce back and win her consolation match in straight sets and was pinned to face teammate Haruka Sasaki but the match was never played.

Surapaneni wasn't the only returner to pick up wins on Sunday.

Seniors Sasaki and Alexandra Heczey each won at least one singles match.

Sasaki defeated her South Florida opponent on Saturday quickly in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. And then on Sunday in an extra match she defeated Sam Houston State's Petra Kaszas in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Heczey's lone win came in her very first singles match. The senior defeated Sam Houston State's Rosalie Gerritsen in a long drawn out match that ended with Heczey winning 7-5, 3-6, 12-10.

In doubles, UNT picked up two wins first with Sasaki and Surapaneni defeating a Texas State team handily, 6-1. Then on Sunday, Hummel and Heczey knocked off a SHSU team, 6-2, in an extra match.

"We will build on the positives and work on the areas that got exposed," Lama said. "We hope to have the whole team healthy to compete at our next tournament which is in a few days."

The Mean Green will head down I-35 on Friday and compete in the SMU Red and Blue Challenge, which will last through Sunday.

RESULTS
SINGLES

Diae El Jardi (Rice) def. Hala Khaled Badwy (UNT), 3-3

Nidhi Surapaneni (UNT) def, Liz Chileno (UTA), 7-5, 6-4
NIdhi Surapaneni (UNT) def. Rishona Lewis (TX ST), 6-0, 6-2
Mariya Shumeika (AMCC) def. Nidhi Surapaneni (UNT), 6-1, 7-6(3)

Alexandra Heczey (UNT) def. Rosalie Gerritsen (SHSU), 7-5, 3-6, 12-10
Carolina Bulatovic (AMCC) def. Alexandra Heczey (UNT), 6-3, 6-0

Sophia Hummel (UNT) def. Elena Tairyan (UH), 6-3, 6-4
Sophia Hummel (UNT) def. Nanaka Takeuchi (UTA), 6-4, 6-7, 10-2
Carolina Bulatovic (AMCC) def. Sophia Hummel (UNT), 6-2, 6-3

Caraline Scheufler (Auburn) def. Kexuan Zhou (UNT), 5-7, 7-6(2), 10-6
Kexuan Zhou (UNT) def. Petra Kaszas (SHSU), 7-6(5), 6-1
Selina Yaylali (USF) def. Kexuan Zhou (UNT), 3-6, 6-3, 10-7

Constandena Nicolaou (SHSU) def. Haruka Sasaki (UNT), 6-1, 6-4
Haruka Sasaki (UNT) def. Selina Yaylali (USF), 6-2, 6-1
Haruka Sasaki (UNT) def. Petra Kaszas (SHSU), 7-6(5), 6-4

Louisa Junghanns (UNT) def. Sofia Murcia (TX ST), 6-2, 6-2
Louisa Junghanns (UNT) def. Emma Goedkoop (SHSU), 6-2, 3-6, 10-8

DOUBLES
Fabian/ Selim (Alabama) def. Heczey/ Badwy (UNT), 6-3
Sasaki/ Surapaneni (UNT) def. Lewis/Lewis (TX ST), 6-1
Hummel/Heczey (UNT) def. Nicolaou/Ruffin (SHSU), 6-2