NEW YORK – The 69^th-ranked Columbia women's tennis team battled, but came up short to No. 43 Rice, 5-2 on Saturday afternoon inside the Philip and Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center.
 
Columbia took control of the momentum early Saturday by winning the doubles point. Sophia Wang and Emily Baek posted a 6-1 victory over Divna Ratkovic and Valentina Ponce in the No. 3 spot. The duo of Gayathri Krishnan and Sophia Strugnell took down 80^th-ranked Saara Orav and Francesca Maguina, 6-3 in the No. 2 doubles to clinch the doubles point for Columbia.
 
Rice responded with two wins to begin singles play as the Owls took a 2-1 team lead. Dara Schwartzman earned a 6-3, 6-2 win against Malak El Allami in the top singles match. Maguina followed that up with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Fatima Keita in the No. 3 singles to put the Owls in front as a team.
 
Columbia briefly leveled the team score, 2-2 when Winta Tewolde finished off a 6-2, 6-4 win against Allison Zipoli in the No. 5 spot. However, Rice regained control with a win in the No. 2 singles as Ratkovic got past Krishnan, 6-4, 6-3. The Owls clinched the team victory with Nithesa Selvaraj's 6-2, 6-4 win over Wang in the No. 4 spot. Fernanda Martinez helped Rice finish off the 5-2 victory with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 victory against Baek in the No. 6 singles.
 
RESULTS
#43 Rice 5, #69 Columbia 2
 
Singles
1. Darya Schwartzman (RICE) def. Malak El Allami (COL) 6-3, 6-2
2. Divna Ratkovic (RICE) def. Gayathri Krishnan (COL) 6-4, 6-3
3. Francesca Maguina (RICE) def. Fatima Keita (COL) 7-5, 6-2
4. Nithesa Selvaraj (RICE) def. Sophia Wang (COL) 6-2, 6-4
5. Winte Tewolde (COL) def. Allison Zipoli (RICE) 6-2, 6-4
6. Fernanda Martinez (RICE) def. Emily Baek (COL) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
 
Doubles
1. Fatima Keita/Malak El Allami (COL) vs. Darya Schwartzman/Fernanda Martinez (RICE) 5-2 (unfinished)
2. Gayathri Krishnan/Sophia Strugnell (COL) def. #80 Saara Orav/Francesa Maguina (RICE) 6-3
3. Sophia Wang/Emily Baek (COL) def. Divna Ratkovic/Valentina Ponce (RICE) 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,3,5,2,4,6)
 
UP NEXT
Columbia returns to action on Friday, March 21 at Cal Poly. First serve from San Luis Obispo, California is slated for 3 p.m. ET.
 
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