By Josh Milton

Sports Editor

The Tech tennis team began the spring season with a rocky start Saturday, as the Techsters faulted their first match-up against the Rice Owls 7-0 at the Woodlands Country Club in Houston.

Rainy weather led to Rice's morning match against Lamar being postponed and moved the match against Tech to the indoor facilities at the Woodlands, where the Techsters struggled to make the adjustment in court play.

"Playing indoors is very different than playing outdoors," head coach Greg Hearn said. "Everything is a little different. Some of our team was ready mentally, but some of our team was not."

Tech's best doubles' battle came in the No. 2 set, where Rice's Karen Chao and Tracie Chong defeated Saharai Uriarte and Avril Martinez 8-5. Uriarte and Monica Kelly each served Tech's toughest singles' match-ups, but each fell 6-2,6-3 to her respective opponent.

If the switch to indoor facilities wasn't tough enough, the Rice tennis team was no easy contest, as the Owls are among the Western Athletic Conference's elite in tennis. However, Hearn is confident in his team's potential and convinced the Techsters will have a fine spring season.

"From this weekend, we definitely looked better in the fall," Hearn said. "We didn't play to our potential or to our competitive level. We'll be a tough team to beat though. We'll compete with top teams like SMU, Rice, LSU and UNO later in the season, and we'll have the chance to pull off the upset."

The Techsters come home for their first home match of the spring season Friday, as they take on Grambling at 10 a.m. on the Tech Tennis Courts.

Hearn and the Techsters eagerly anticipate the home match to kick off the spring season on a positive note and get in a winning groove.

"These teams we'll play at home are teams we can establish ourselves with," Hearn said. "There is a very good possibility we'll win this home match this weekend, and hopefully, we'll win confidence also."