University of Missouri
Minnesota
Tigers Suffer Third Loss to Big Ten, 5-2
2/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Feb. 21, 2009
Columbia, Mo. – No. 75 Missouri suffered its third loss of the spring season to the No. 52 ranked Minnesota Gophers on Saturday (Feb. 21) afternoon, 5-2. The Tigers (4-3, 0-0 Big 12) welcomed the Gophers (6-3, 0-0 Big Ten) to the Green Tennis Center in Columbia, Mo., for dual competition. Play began at 2:00 p.m. and featured a round of doubles followed by a round of singles.
The afternoon kicked off with heavy competition in doubles. Mizzou's top pair of Mallory Weber and Jamie Mera, were edged slightly, 8-6, by Karina Chiarelli and Alessandra Ferazzi of Minnesota. The No. 2 match went Missouri's way as senior Jessica Giuggioli and sophomore Kaitlyn Ritchie carded a win with an 8-3 victory over Tijana Koprivica and Niltooli Wilkins. The Gophers locked the doubles point with another tight win, this time at the No. 3 spot. Jackie Sperling and Magdalena Wiecha were able to earn a 9-7 victory over Sofia Ayala and Danielle Day.
In singles action Day suffered just her second singles loss, since coming to Mizzou in January, as she fell to Minnesota's Koprivica in two sets. Senior Ayala finished the night with a big win for the Tigers at No. 6, playing in the final match of the evening. All eyes were on Ayala and Sperling of Minnesota as the remaining singles matches finished and the No. 6 ladies headed into their tie-breaking set. After a hard-fought back-and-forth set, Ayala sealed her fourth singles victory of the spring season, 7-5, 7-6, (1).
"We were up 7-4 at No. 3 doubles, and 6-5 at No. 1 doubles and Minnesota came back and won both of those. If we won either one of those, its a completely different match," said coach Blake Starkey. "You have to give Minnesota credit, they fought really well in tight spaces. We put ourselves in positions to win and Minnesota was able to come back to win. Anyone who comes back from down 4-7 to win the doubles point, you have to tip your hats to them and give them credit. They're well coached and did a really good job."
The Tigers will be back in action Friday (Feb. 27) as they play host to yet another Big Ten opponent, the Wisconsin Badgers. Play will begin at 3:00 p.m. inside the Green Tennis Center in Columbia, Mo. Admission is free and open to the public.
Final Team Score: Minnesota 5, Missouri 2
Complete Doubles Results
No. 1 Chiarelli/Ferrazzi (MINN) def. Mera/Weber (MIZ) 8-6
No. 2 Giuggioli/Ritchie (MIZ) def. Koprivica/Wilkins (MINN) 8-3
No. 3 Sperling/Wiecha (MINN) def. Ayala/ Day (MIZ) 9-7
Complete Singles Results
No. 1 No. 100 Alessandra Ferrazzi (MINN) def. Jessica Giuggioli (MIZ) 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Karina Chiarelli (MINN) def. Mallory Weber (MIZ) 6-4, 7-6, (2)
No. 3 Niltooli Wilkins (MINN) def. Jamie Mera (MIZ) 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 Tijana Koprivica (MINN) def. Danielle Day (MIZ) 7-5, 6-0
No. 5 Kaitlyn Ritchie (MIZ) def. Magdalena Wiecha (MINN) 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 Sofia Ayala (MIZ) def. Jackie Sperling (MINN) 7-5, 7-6, (1)
Players Mentioned
