SMU’s Jennifer Chay hits the ball. (Sarah Acosta)

The No. 52 SMU women’s tennis team suffered a fate similar to their male counterparts when the women fell 4-3 to Rice at the C-USA Championship tournament. After a bye in the first round, No. 2 seed SMU met No. 10 seed Rice in the quarterfinals.

The Owls, who were the defending champions of the conference tournament, fell to No. 3 seed and No. 63- ranked Marshall in the semifinals of the tournament. The No. 44 Golden Hurricane of Tulsa took the 2007 Championship title.

SMU began the day by winning the doubles point with victories at No. 2 and No. 3. Jennifer Chay and Pavi Francis defeated Dominique Karas and Rebecca Lin 8-3 at No. 2, while Monica Nevelovska and Kristen Reid downed Emily Braid and Christine Dao 8-5 in the No. 3 spot.

Claire Reitsch and Chay were the only Mustangs to take singles victories during the match. Chay, a senior, beat Rice’s Dao 6-1, 7-5 at No. 2. Reitsch, who consistently held the Mustangs’ best singles record throughout the season, defeated Tiffany Lee 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in the No. 3 position.

Francis dropped a 6-1, 6-1 decision to Dominique Karas at No. 4. The Mustang freshman beat Karas earlier in the season 6-4, 6-4. Rice’s Lin beat sophomore Reid 6-1, 6-4 at No. 5, finishing third out of all the singles matches.

Georgiana Marta played the last C-USA match of her career during the Championship, falling to Rice’s Braid in three sets. The senior was able to take the second set, but Braid closed the match 6-0, 4-6, 6-4.

Despite the loss, the SMU women’s tennis team finished 19-5, one of its best records ever. Now the Mustangs await the announcement of the NCAA Championship brackets on May 1.