University of Missouri
No. 25 Mississippi
@MizzouTennis Drops Tight Match at No. 25 Ole Miss Sunday
3/19/2017 7:00:00 PM | Tennis
Tigers won doubles point, but fell by 4-1 score
OXFORD, Mississippi – No. 42 Mizzou Tennis (10-6, 1-4 SEC) battled hard, but came up short against No. 25 Ole Miss (11-5, 2-3 SEC) Sunday afternoon at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center in Oxford, Mississippi. The Tigers won the doubles point for the first time this season in Southeastern Conference play, and had control of a pair of singles matches, but couldn't hold off the Rebels as Mizzou dropped its fourth conference match of the season.
"Tough Loss today," Head Coach Colt Gaston said. "I thought we did a good job in doubles, playing aggressive and setting the tone early. Our freshmen, Tate and Mackenzy, continue to build on on their solid seasons. Cassidy gave it everything she had at No. 2 to give us an opportunity in the match. But, credit to Ole Miss for being the better team today. There were positives to take out of it and we will build on them next week in practice,"
Mizzou received excellent performances from its top pairings to win the doubles point. Senior Bea Machado Santos (Lisbon, Portugal) and junior Amina Ismail (Maineville, Ohio) defeated the No. 33-ranked pairing of Arianne Hartono and Anna Vrbenska by a score of 6-3. This was the seventh victory for the pair and the first against a ranked pairing.
With one doubles win in the books, Mizzou turned to senior Cassidy Spearman (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and freshman Tate Schroeder (Centennial, Colo.). After Ole Miss battled back to tie the match at 5 all, Spearman and Schroeder flipped a switch and snatched the next two games to give Mizzou its first doubles point of conference play. The win gives Spearman and Schroeder six wins as a doubles team, second most on the team.
In singles play, Mizzou fell behind 3-1 early, but looked to be in a position to come back. Schroeder was taking care of business at No. 3 and seemed to be on her way to her team-leading 11th singles win of the spring, but ran out of time as Ole Miss clinched the dual win while Schroeder was winning her match 6-4, 5-3. Freshman Mackenzy Middlebrooks (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) won her first set as well, but her match was also cut short during the second set, resulting in a final score of 4-1.
The Tigers return home for another pair of matches against against ranked conference opponents. Mizzou will host No. 21 South Carolina on Friday at 5 p.m. CT and No. 1 Florida on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT. Both matches will be held at the Mizzou Tennis Complex and are free to the public.
For all the latest on Mizzou Tennis, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook (MizzouTennis), Twitter (@MizzouTennis), and Instagram (@Mizzou_Tennis).
Game-by-Game Results:
Doubles:
1. Bea Machado Santos/Amina Ismail (MIZ) def. #33 Arianne Hartono/Anna Vrbenska (OM) 6-3 2.
2. Cassidy Spearman/Tate Schroeder (MIZ) def. Natalie Suk/Alexa Bortles (OM) 7-5
3. Zalina Khairudinova/Tea Jandric (OM) def. Mackenzy Middlebrook/Clare Raley (MIZ) 6-2
Singles:
1. #47 Arianne Hartono (OM) def. Bea Machado Santos (MIZ) 6-3, 6-1
2. Natalie Suk (OM) def. Cassidy Spearman (MIZ) 6-3, 7-5
3. Zalina Khairudinova (OM) vs. Tate Schroeder (MIZ) 4-6, 3-5, unfinished
4. Anna Vrbenska (OM) def. Amina Ismail (MIZ) 6-2, 6-0
5. Tea Jandric (OM) vs. Mackenzy Middlebrook (MIZ) 4-6, 5-2, unfinished
6. Alexa Bortles (OM) def. Clare Raley (MIZ) 6-2, 6-0
Players Mentioned
