DENTON, Texas (10/16/08) - The North Texas tennis team plays at this weekend's 28th Annual Rice Classic in Houston on Friday, October 17 through Sunday, October 19. Louisiana State University and Southern Methodist University, among other schools highlight the tournament this weekend.

The LSU Tigers possess one of the country's best players, Megan Falcon, who received a No. 15 singles ranking in the ITA Preseason poll. Falcon also received a No. 11 ranking with teammate Mykala Hedberg for doubles. LSU finished the '07-08 season with a final ranking of 27.

The SMU Mustangs also have some talented players at the Rice Classic. The doubles team of Natalia Bubien and Kseniia Tokarieva earned an ITA Preseason ranking of 28. Bubien also received a Top 100 ranking in singles.  

North Texas head coach Sujay Lama talked about how his team can improve during the weekend.

"Our goal is to do a better job of finishing matches," Lama said. "This is great opportuntiy for us to gain confidence and momentum heading into the (ITA) Regional's next week."

The Mean Green comes in having played three tournaments this fall, posting nice records in both singles and doubles. Overall, the team is 38-28 in singles and 19-8 in doubles.

Freshman Irina-Alexandra Paraschiv is fresh off a solid performance at the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational making the semifinals of her back draw. Along the way, Paraschiv defeated opponents from Baylor, Texas A&M, and Rice. 

The rest of the schools involved in the Rice Classic this weekend are Rice, Houston, Texas State, UT-Arlington, UT-San Antonio, Lamar, Samford, and Lee College.