Owls Fall in a 4-3 Nail Biter to Rice

Monday, January 19

Houston, Texas

12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

Rice

1/19/2026 4:05:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

HOUSTON – The Florida Atlantic women's tennis team fell to Rice, 4-3, in a nail-biting match on Monday afternoon.

The Owls traveled to Houston, Texas to face a Rice team that the program had never beaten in five tries. The match was part of a five-match road swing to open the 2026 campaign that certainly does not shy away from difficulty. On Monday, FAU forced the match into a three-set tiebreaker and nearly pulled off the win, ultimately falling 4-3 and by the narrowest of margins after nearly three-and-a-half hours of play. In the previous five meetings, just one was determined by one point, back in 2021.

THE BEGINNING
Florida Atlantic continued to play outstanding doubles with Malwina Rowinksa and Lara Smejkal leading the way for a 6-2 win on the top court. The duo has yet to be beaten in 2026 but were tested and surrendered their first two games of the season. Following in a similar fashion, the team of Panna Bartha and Katrin Pavkova won court #2 at 6-4 to clinch the doubles points for the Owls from Paradise. The third and final court saw the freshman duo of Milika Amiragliyeva and Alexia Patru take to the court for the third time this season and once again the doubles point was clinched by FAU prior to their match's competition.

THE MIDDLE
Holding a 1-0 lead, the teams moved into singles play with players on both sides of the net taking charge of their respective courts. Amiragliyeva won court #4 by a 6-3, 6-1 score to give FAU a 2-0 lead. Shortly after, Rice picked up courts #1 and #3 to even the match at 2-2.

THE END
Pavkova picked up her first set 6-3. She trailed much of the second set but tied it at six all to force a set tiebreaker, which she won 7-3 to give FAU the lead once more at 3-2, with two matches still in progress. The FAU lead would last just minutes with Rice picking up a win on court #6. Both teams and coaches moved to follow and cheer at the deciding match being played on court #2. Rowinska captured the first set 6-3, but dropped the second, 5-7. The players held serve through 6-6, forcing a set tiebreaker and ultimately the match. FAU's Rowinska jumped out early, winning the first two points, but once again trading points until homecourt advantage proved to be too much with Rice pulling away at 5-4 and then the 7-4 match final.

THE RESULTS
Florida Atlantic at Rice | Houston, Texas

Doubles
1. Malwina Rowinska / Lara Smejkal (FAU) def. Uma Bakaityte / Nitesa Selvaraj (Rice) 6-2
2. Panna Bartha / Katrin Pavkova (FAU) def. Fernanda Martinez / Francesca Maguina (Rice) 6-4
3. Milika Amiragliyeva / Alexia Patru vs. Anushka Ashar / Ema Mravcova (Rice) 5-4 UF
Order of finish: 1, 2

Singles
1. Darya Schwartzman (Rice) def. Lara Smejkal (FAU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Uma Bakaityte (Rice) def. Malwina Rowinska (FAU) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Divna Ratkovic (Rice) def. Panna Bartha (FAU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Milika Amiragliyeva (FAU) def. Francesca Maguina (Rice) 6-3, 6-1
5. Katrin Pavkova (FAU) def. Nithesa Selvaraj (Rice) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Fernanda Martinez (Rice) def. Alexia Patru (FAU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 1, 3, 5, 6

Match Notes: Florida Atlantic 1-2 | Rice 2-0

UPCOMING MATCH
The Owls will next participate in the 2026 ITA Kickoff, hosted by Duke in Durham, North Carolina, where the Owls ended their historic 2025 campaign in the NCAA Regionals. The tournament features host Duke as well as Miami and South Carolina. The Owls will play South Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 24 and will then play Sunday, Jan. 25 versus either Duke or Miami. The matches are slated for either 10:30 a.m. or 1 p.m.

COMPLETE SCHEDULE
For a complete schedule, click HERE.

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