University of Missouri
(#27) Arkansas
@MizzouTennis Falls in SEC Opener, 4-1
3/2/2018 7:08:00 PM | Tennis
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Sophomore Mackenzy Middlebrooks (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) won her 18th consecutive match Friday at the Mizzou Tennis Complex, but it wasn't enough as the Mizzou Tennis team (11-4, 0-1 SEC) lost its Southeastern Conference opener to No. 27 Arkansas, 4-1.
The Razorbacks (5-5, 1-0) picked up 6-2 and 6-4 wins at No. 2 and No. 1 doubles, respectively, to win the doubles point, then took a 2-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles.
Middlebrooks then closed the gap to 2-1 by cruising to a 6-2, 6-0 win over Mia Jurasic at No. 3. With the win, Middlebrooks remained undefeated in dual-match competition this season at 12-0. Five of those wins have come at No. 4, and seven have come at her current No. 3 position.
Freshmen Ellie Wright (Gainesville, Fla.) and Taylor Gruber (Spicewood, Texas) fought hard in their matches – Wright faced the only ranked Razorback of the day, her fourth ranked opponent to date this season in No. 76 Ana Oparenovic – yet the Hogs secured 6-3, 6-4 and 6-4, 6-4 wins, respectively, to close out the match.
"Not the start that we wanted in our first SEC match, but we have to learn from it and stay hungry," said Head Coach Colt Gaston. "Getting back to our 'one way' mentality and completely buying in on big points, and playing them the right way, is what we need to improve on. We are overthinking a little bit instead of keeping simple targets and putting balls away. We have some work to do, and I look forward to getting back to the drawing board tomorrow."
UP NEXT
Having played its conference travel partner today, Mizzou is off from competition until next Friday, March 9, when the Tigers welcome No. 4 Vanderbilt for a 4 p.m. match. Mizzou then wraps up its 10-match homestand on Sunday, March 11, with an 11 a.m. match vs. No. 15 Kentucky. For all the latest on Mizzou Tennis, stay tuned to mutigers.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
#27 Arkansas 4, Mizzou 1
DOUBLES (order of finish: 2, 1)
#36 Ana Oparenovic/Tatum Rice (AR) def. Serena Nash/Marta Oliveira (MIZ), 6-4
Mia Jurasic/Giulia Pairone (AR) def. Amina Ismail/Clare Raley (MIZ), 6-2
Natsuho Arakawa/Agne Cepelyte (AR) vs. Mackenzy Middlebrooks/Ellie Wright (MIZ), 5-4, suspended
SINGLES (order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 2)
Giulia Pairone (AR) def. Serena Nash (MIZ), 6-0, 6-2
#76 Ana Oparenovic (AR) def. Ellie Wright (MIZ), 6-3, 6-4
Mackenzy Middlebrooks (MIZ) def. Mia Jurasic (AR), 6-2, 6-0
Tatum Rice (AR) def. Taylor Gruber (MIZ), 6-4, 6-4
Natsuho Arakawa (AR) vs. Amina Ismail (MIZ), 0-0, suspended
Agne Cepelyte (AR) vs. Clare Raley (MIZ), suspended
Players Mentioned
