Friday, February 23
Columbia, Mo.
1:30 PM
University of Missouri
vs
(#30) Wichita State
@MizzouTennis Set For Trio of Weekend Matches
2/21/2018 3:43:00 PM | Tennis
Tigers face Wichita State Friday, K-State & UMKC Sunday
COLUMBIA, Mo. – For the third straight weekend, the No. 49-ranked Mizzou Tennis team (10-1) is at home for two days of competition, but the Tigers will have three matches over the course of those two days for the first time in a month: Mizzou plays No. 30 Wichita State (8-3) at 1:30 p.m. on Friday before facing No. 35 Kansas State (5-1) and UMKC (5-4) in a Sunday doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m. Please note that Friday's match time is a change from what appears on Mizzou's schedule released at the beginning of the season.
RANKINGS UPDATE: MIZZOU IN AT NO. 49
- For the first time since early April of last season, the Tigers are back in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, debuting this season at No. 49.
- The Tigers spent time in the rankings a total of seven times last year, peaking at a program-record No. 31.
LOOKING BACK: MIZZOU NOTCHES WINS OVER MINNESOTA, MEMPHIS
- The Tigers started last weekend with a thrilling 4-3 win over Minnesota on Friday night. A dual that started nearly 5-1/2 hours earlier concluded when senior co-captain Clare Raley (Atlanta, Ga.) registered a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win over the Golden Gophers' River Hart in the only match left on the Mizzou Tennis Complex courts.
- Minnesota (7-2) twice tied the match, and took a 3-2 lead after wins at Nos. 1-3 singles, but Mizzou's senior co-captains came through. Amina Ismail (Maineville, Ohio) notched a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win over Caitlyn Merzbacher at No. 5 to tie things up before Raley's clincher.
- Mizzou then cruised to its fifth straight win Sunday afternoon with a 4-2 triumph over Memphis to again sweep the home weekend.
- Memphis (6-4) tied things up at 1-1 after a win at No. 1 singles, but the Tigers retook a 2-1 lead after sophomore Mackenzy Middlebrooks (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) notched her team-leading 14th consecutive singles win of the season. Her 6-2, 7-5 win over Laura Bente also kept her undefeated in dual matches this season at 8-0.
- Memphis then gave the match its second tie of the afternoon with a three-set win at the No. 2 slot before Mizzou took control. Ismail rolled to a 6-0, 6-4 win over Claire Sullivan at No. 5, before freshman Ellie Wright (Gainesville, Fla.) clinched the match with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback win over Alisha Reayer.
DOUBLING UP
- Doubles continues to be the strength of the Tigers, as Mizzou has won the doubles point in all 11 matches this season. In all, Mizzou's doubles teams are 38-20 (.655) on the year, and 23-7 (.767) in dual play.
- Middlebrooks (Wright and Raley) and Wright (Noback, Nash and Middlebrooks) lead the way with 13 doubles wins each on the season. Ten of those have come with each other, including a 9-1 mark in dual play. Middlebrooks has also paired with Raley this year, while Wright has also teamed up with sophomore Serena Nash (Bradford, England) and freshman Ally Noback (Alpharetta, Ga.)
- Raley and Nash are close behind with 12 total doubles wins, including nine together.
MACK'S ON FIRE
- Sophomore Mackenzy Middlebrooks (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) has the hottest singles streak going on the team at the moment; dating back to the fall season, she's won her last 14 singles decisions.
- Her streak began after losing her opening match a the ITA Regional Championships in Lawrence, Kan., on Oct. 19. Middlebrooks then roared back through the consolation bracket, winning six straight matches – not dropping a set in the process – in earning the consolation singles title.
- Middlebrooks' 14 singles wins currently leads the team, as does her 8-0 singles record in dual play (5-0 at No. 3, 3-0 at No. 4).
FIVE NEWCOMERS
- Second-year Head Coach Colt Gaston has assembled a mix of veteran talent and young newcomers with this season's roster.
- Four Tigers – Nash, a sophomore transfer from Oklahoma; and freshmen Wright, Oliveira and Noback – made their team debuts in the fall.
- A fifth – Taylor Gruber (Spicewood, Texas) – signed with Mizzou in November, graduated early from high school and joined the team in January.
- The newcomers have accounted for nearly half (28) of the Tigers' 60 singles wins this season, and have had a hand in 34 of the team's 37 doubles victories.
SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
- The Shockers entered the ITA rankings at No. 30 this week, and also feature a pair of ranked singles players in Fatima Bizhukova (No. 71) and Sandra Honigova (No. 106).
- Wichita State is 8-3 in the dual season, and is coming off a 4-3 loss at Nebraska this past Sunday to break a five-match win streak.
- The Shockers are the second straight opponent that has already played in Columbia once this season. WSU played in the Mizzou Invitational back in September.
- The tournament was individually-based, so no team dual matches were played.
- Mizzou's doubles teams went 0-2 against WSU in that tournament, while the Shockers won three out of the five singles matchups over the course of that weekend.
- Bizhukova is 12-6 this season, including 5-1 at No. 1 singles in dual play.
SCOUTING KANSAS STATE
- The Wildcats have also entered the ITA rankings at No. 35 this week. KSU also features freshman Margot Decker, the No. 104-ranked singles player in the country.
- Kansas State is 5-1 on the season, and has a four-match winning streak of its own after taking a 4-1 victory at Colorado last Sunday. The Wildcats have a doubleheader at home this Friday vs. Nebraska and Akron prior to traveling to Columbia.
- KSU also competed in the Mizzou Invitational back in September. The doubles teams split a pair of matches, while K-State took three out of four singles matches.
- Entering this weekend, Decker is 3-3 at No. 1, while Ines Mesquita is unbeaten at 5-0 at No. 5.
- In the dual season, K-State is 22-10 (.688) in singles, and 10-5 (.667) in doubles.
SCOUTING UMKC
- The Kangaroos are 5-4 after outlasting South Dakota, 4-3, last Saturday, and face Akron at home on Saturday before coming to Columbia. UMKC has already faced WSU (L, 7-0) and KSU (L, 4-0) this season.
- Aliona Ladutska is 4-3 at No. 1 singles, and 7-4 overall this year.
- Ioanna Lathouri is undefeated at 4-0 this season, including her only dual match this season at No. 6.
- UMKC is 22-24 (.478) in singles in dual play this season, and 13-12 (.520) in doubles.
For all the latest on Mizzou Tennis, stay tuned to mutigers.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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