University of Missouri
Purdue University
Purdue Defeats Missouri, 5-2
2/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Feb. 7, 2010
Columbia, MO - University of Missouri women's tennis (1-2) was defeated by Purdue (6-0), 5-2 Sunday evening at the Green Tennis Center.
Beginning the day with doubles, Sofia Ayala and Jamie Mera took a win at No. 3 doubles to position the Tigers within one win of claiming the doubles point. However, Purdue's Michelle Sammons and Jennifer Rabot took the win over Missouri's Mallory Weber and Kaitlyn Ritche at No. 1 doubles 8-4, and the eventual win at No. 2, 8-7 (8-6) coming back from a 6-4 deficit, to take the doubles point.
In singles action, Missouri dropped matches at No. 1, 2, 3, and 5. Junior Mallory Weber faced a familiar face in Purdue's Sammons, dropping her second singles match of the season to her, 6-0, 6-1.
At No. 2 singles, Ritchie was defeated by the Boilermakers Rabot 7-5, 7-6 (2).
Freshman Maria Christensen improved to 2-1 in dual matches in her collegiate career by battling to take down Purdue freshman Gisella Pere at the No. 6 position.
Senior Sofia Ayala also saw her season record increase to 2-1 with a win over Purdue's Anna Dushkina, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 (1).
The team will spend the next week fine-tuning their game before they resume play.
"We were two points from closing the doubles, and it was ours to take," said Head Coach Blake Starkey. "That's something we have to do from now on. Purdue is a good team, and they outplayed us tonight, but we have to work on how to close matches."
Next week Missouri takes on their first road match of the season as they face University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin and University of Minnesota in Minneapolis on Sat. Feb. 13.
Match-by-Match Results:
February 7, 2010
Purdue, 5, Missouri 2
Doubles:
Michelle Sammons/Jennifer Rabot (PU) def. Mallory Weber/Kaitlyn Ritchie (MU), 8-4
Anna Dushkina/ Remi Martin (PU) def. Andrea Lewis/Kristen Bleakley (MU), 9-8 (6)
Sofia Ayala/Jamie Mera (MU) def. Imogen Golder/Bhavani Tirumurti (PU), 8-6
Singles:
2. Jennifer Rabot (PU) def. Kaitlyn Ritchie (MU), 7-5, 7-6 (2)
3. Bhavani Tirumurti (PU) def. Jamie Mera (MU) 7-5, 6-1
4. Sofia Ayala (MU) def. Anna Dushkina (PU) 7-6 (3), 2-6, 7-6 (2)
5. Imogen Golden (PU) def. Andrea Lewis (MU) 7-6 (5), 6-3, 10-4
6. Maria Christensen (MU) def. Gisella Pere (PU) 6-1, 6-2
Players Mentioned
