Saturday, February 10
Columbia, Mo.
11 AM
University of Missouri
vs
Tulane
@MizzouTennis Starts Homestand With Saturday Doubleheader
2/8/2018 3:20:00 PM | Tennis
Tigers welcome Tulane, South Dakota State
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Following a pair of weekends out East, the Mizzou Tennis team (6-1) returns home for a pair of matches this Saturday at the Mizzou Tennis Complex. The Tigers begin at 11 a.m. vs. Tulane (3-2), then wrap up the day at 3 p.m. vs. South Dakota State (0-4). Saturday's matches mark the start of a 10-match homestand that will span five consecutive weekends.
RANKINGS UPDATE: RALEY/NASH AT NO. 49
- Senior co-captain Clare Raley (Atlanta, Ga.) and sophomore Serena Nash (Bradford, England) are ranked at No. 49 in the most-recent Oracle/ITA National Doubles rankings, announced Wednesday by Intercollegiate Tennis Association officials.
- The duo is currently 9-2 on the year, 6-1 in dual play, and have won their last six decisions.
- Raley & Nash finished at No. 47 in the ITA Fall Rankings.
LOOKING BACK: TIGERS SPLIT IN VIRGINIA
- Mizzou suffered its first defeat of the 2018 season at Virginia Tech last Saturday, falling to the Hokies by a 4-2 count. The Tigers fought hard to win the doubles point, but couldn't string three singles wins together. Four of the six singles matches went to three sets, and two of those four went to a 7-6 tiebreak in the deciding set, but both of those went in favor of Virginia Tech.
- In the nightcap vs. Radford, Mizzou cruised through the doubles point and swept through singles for an easy 4-0 win.
- Sophomore Mackenzy Middlebrooks (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) had the quickest afternoon of any Tiger, partnering with freshman Ellie Wright (Gainesville, Fla.) for a 6-0 doubles win, then whitewashed her way to a 6-0, 6-0 singles triumph.
- Freshman Ally Noback (Alpharetta, Ga.) earned her first win of the season with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
- Nash picked up a team-best three wins on the day, including a 6-1, 6-3 victory to clinch the match over Radford.
DOUBLING UP
- Doubles continues to be the strength of the Tigers, as Mizzou has won the doubles point in all seven matches this season. In all, Mizzou's doubles teams are 30-17 (.638) on the year, and 15-4 (.789) in dual play.
- Raley and Nash lead the way with a total of 12 doubles wins. Nine of those have come with each other, leading to their No. 49 national ranking; Raley has also joined Middlebrooks, while Nash has also paired with freshmen Marta Oliveira (Lisbon, Portugal) and Wright.
- Middlebrooks (Wright and Raley) and Wright (Noback, Nash and Middlebrooks) are close behind with nine doubles wins on the season.
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 11 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' 11 singles wins currently leads the team, as does her 5-0 singles record in dual play.
FIVE NEWCOMERS
- 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 Ally Noback (Alpharetta, Ga.) – 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 over half (24) of the Tigers' 47 singles wins this season, and have had a hand in 27 of the team's 30 doubles victories.
SCOUTING TULANE
- The Green Wave are 3-2 following a 4-1 win at UAB last weekend. The weekend prior, Tulane lost a pair of 4-0 matches to No. 13 Auburn and UC Santa Barbara as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
- Sophomore Christina Sisti leads the way for Tulane with an 8-3 singles record, and a 3-1 dual mark, playing primarily at No. 5.
- The doubles squad of Ivone Alvaro/Laura Fabrizi has a team-high three wins, including a 2-1 dual mark at No. 2.
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
- The Jackrabbits are 0-4 after a pair of road weekend sweeps. Last weekend, SDSU dropped a 6-1 decision at Nebraska-Kearney and a 4-3 nailbiter to Rockhurst.
- Freshman Sidney Brower is coming off a 2-0 singles weekend for the Jackrabbits, who don't play at home until the middle of April.
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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