Jan. 18, 2010
Fort Myers, Fla. - The Missouri women's tennis team won five matches, including a third place match, in Ft. Myers, Fla., on Monday during the final day of the Hilton Garden Inn Eagle Invite.
Newcomer Maria Christensen won the No. 6 singles third place match, completing her first collegiate tournament with a 2-1 record. The Hellerup, Denmark, native, who joined the team as a mid-term enrollee, defeated Florida A&M's Alexis Brown 6-2, 6-3 to complete the weekend.
Junior Kaitlyn Ritchie won her first set, before dropping the second, but recovered to earn a 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 victory over Akron's Anya Baronayte and take fifth in the No. 5 singles draw. Senior Sofia Ayala won the consolation final and finished fifth in he No. 4 singles draw when she beat Victoria Krook from Northern Florida 6-3, 6-3.
Ayala and Ritchie teamed up to defeat South Florida's Ecaterina Vasenina and Allyn Mueller 8-5 and take third place honors at No. 2 doubles.
Kristen Bleakley and Christensen finished sixth in the No. 3 doubles draw after falling to Purdue's Bhavani Tirumurti and Imogen Golder 7-9.
Missouri returns home to enter the dual-match portion of its schedule Saturday. The Tigers host Memphis at 8 a.m. and Ohio State at 6 p.m. at Green Tennis Center.