HOUSTON – This weekend, UTSA Women’s Tennis hits the road for the second time in 2026. The nation’s fourth-largest city is set to host the Roadrunners’ next two contests, starting on Thursday at American Conference foe Rice. A day later, the Navy & Orange will visit the Cougars as undefeated Houston looks to remain perfect on the year.
THE WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 12 (12 p.m.) – UTSA (4-1) at Rice (4-3)
Friday, Feb. 13 (1 p.m.) – UTSA (4-1) at Houston (7-0)
LAST TIME OUT
The Roadrunners spent a weekend at home, racking up three victories in as many matches. UTSA hosted Sam Houston on Friday, Feb. 6, cruising past the Bearkats 6-1 and nearly taking all seven points. Two days later, the squad hosted a Sunday doubleheader against New Mexico State and Incarnate Word. Both matches went to Ki Kroll’s bunch by 4-1 margins, improving their record to 4-1 on the campaign while remaining unbeaten at home this spring.
NEW TO THIS AND TRUE TO THIS
Over the weekend, UTSA freshman Celine Absawi was integral in pushing her side to three straight victories at home. The first-year Roadrunner went undefeated in singles action, reflecting her team’s 3-0 swing over Sam Houston, NM State and UIW. In each contest, UTSA relinquished just one team point, surging to 4-1 overall on the young spring campaign.
On Friday, Absawi started off the contest with a 6-4 win in doubles before cruising in singles play. The Israel native prevailed 6-3, 6-2 on court two as UTSA won the match by a final score of 6-1. Two days later, she returned to her winning ways against NM State in the first half of a doubleheader. Following yet another doubles victory (6-2), the freshman stepped back onto court two, cruising past the Aggie opposition 6-2 in the opening frame. Her 7-5 victory in the second set effectively clinched the match over NM State, with court six wrapping up mere seconds after.
Later that afternoon, in-city opposition lurked across the net, with Incarnate Word visiting. Absawi left little doubt on the second court once again, notching yet another victory by a 6-2, 6-4 margin. The showing capped off a weekend in which she won all six singles sets and guided her team to a 3-0 record.
ABOUT THE OWLS
Rice currently holds a 4-3 record, but has impressed nonetheless. Of their three losses, two were to top-25 teams, with the third coming on the road at TCU. UTSA’s in-state and conference rival has already picked up wins over Baylor, North Texas, FAU and Lamar. Head Coach Elizabeth Schmidt’s group looks to win its 17th straight home match over UTSA. Last season, Rice advanced to the league’s semifinals before falling to sixth-seeded Memphis.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
A season ago, UTSA hosted Houston, earning a narrow 4-3 victory in the Alamo City. The triumph was the program’s third straight over the Cougars as part of a streak dating back to 2023. This year, Houston is out to a perfect 7-0 start, highlighted by wins over North Texas and New Mexico. The squad has yet to lose a single team point all season, rattling off six straight 4-0 victories to open the year before trouncing UTRGV 7-0 last Saturday. First-year Head Coach Katarina Adamovic has yet to suffer defeat since taking the reins of the program over the summer, hoping to carry her momentum into the team’s third-ever Big 12 tournament this April.
UP NEXT
After its two matches in Houston, UTSA will take a post-Mardi-Gras trip to New Orleans. The Roadrunners are set to visit Tulane on Friday, Feb. 20, before playing a doubleheader the next day. Conference foe South Florida will await at Noon before the Privateers of New Orleans will cap off the weekend at 4 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 21.
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