University of Missouri
Ohio State
Mizzou Falls to No. 38 Ohio State
1/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Jan. 23, 2010
Columbia, MO - After a Saturday morning victory over Memphis, 4-1, University of Missouri women's tennis (1-1) paired up with Ohio State (4-0) Saturday evening at the Green Tennis Center. This match marks the first of three contests on this years schedule against the Big Ten Conference, with later matches including Purdue and University of Iowa.
The doubles point was tightly contested as the No. 3 match saw the Tigers' Sofia Ayala and Jamie Mera put away Ohio State's Kirsten Flower and Fidan Manishirova, 8-5. After a loss at No. 2 by senior Kristen Bleakley and newcomer Maria Christensen, it all came down to the No. 1 match-up between Missouri's Mallory Weber and Kaitlyn Ritchie and OSU's Kelsey Haviland and Cami Hubbs. Weber and Ritchie had a hard time breaking OSU's serves the entire match, and the break ended up coming in the ninth point of the tiebreaker, putting Mizzou down 4-5. Ohio State took the next two points, delivering the doubles point to the Buckeyes with a 9-8 (4) win over the Tigers.
"We had our moments tonight, but not enough of them. Some things I saw I really liked, and we're just going to keep moving forward. It is early in the season and we're just trying to get ideas of what we need to work on," said Head Coach Blake Starkey.
In singles, the Buckeyes came out eager and built solid leads in all of their matches. The Tigers battles back in tightening most of the matches, but were unable to close in on any set victories.
Freshman Andrea Lewis was defeated by OSU's Gabby Steele at No. 5 singles, 6-3, 6-4, however Starkey saw some bright moments in her match.
After a busy first two weeks of the spring season, Missouri will take the next two weeks off to prepare for the remainder of the season. The Tigers will continue their opening campaign at Green Tennis Center on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, hosting Saint Louis University and Purdue University, respectively. Play begins at noon on Feb. 6, and 1 p.m. on Feb. 7.
Match-by-Match Results
January 23, 2010
No. 38 Ohio State 7, Missouri 0
Doubles:
Kelsey Haviland/Cami Hubbs (OSU) def. Mallory Weber/Kaitlyn Ritchie (MIZ) 9-8 (4)
Paloma Escobedo/Christina Keesey (OSU) def. Maria Christensen/Kristen Bleakley (MIZ) 0-8
Sofia Ayala/Jamie Mera (MIZ) def. Kirsten Flower/Fidan Manashirova (OSU) 8-5
Singles:
1. Kirsten Flower (OSU) def. Mallory Weber (MIZ) 6-0, 6-1
2. Paloma Escobedo (OSU) def. Kaitlyn Ritchie (MIZ) 6-2, 6-3
3. Christina Keesey (OSU) def. Jamie Mera (MIZ) 6-1, 7-5
4. Kelsey Haviland (OSU) def. Sofia Ayala (MIZ) 6-3, 6-2
5. Gabby Steele (OSU) def. Andrea Lewis (MIZ) 6-3, 6-4
6. Fidan Manashirova (OSU) def. Maria Christensen (MIZ) 6- 3, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1) ; Singles (1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6)
Players Mentioned
