Oct. 8, 2010
Orlando, Fla. -
Missouri Tennis continued its fall campaign on Friday, facing Arkansas and Purdue during the opening day of competition at the 2010 UCF Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
The Tigers met the Boilermakers in doubles competition before facing Arkansas in singles play. Missouri will return to action on Saturday morning with a doubles match vs. UCF and singles play vs. Purdue.
Missouri earned a big win vs. Purdue in #2 doubles play. The tandem of Jamie Mera and Maria Christensen took out the Boilermaker duo of Gisella Pere and Anna Dushkina 8-6 to highlight Missouri's success. Kaitlyn Ritchie and Mallory Weber fell to Purdue's Jennifer Rabot and Mara Schmidt 8-5, while newcomers Rachel Stuhlmann and Annemijn Koenen fell to Imogen Golder and Bhavani Tirumurti 8-5 as well.
A near upset win by Ritchie in singles play sparked a solid afternoon session for Mizzou. Facing Arkansas' nationally-ranked Kate Lukomskaya (#76 nationally), the Tiger senior took the match to three sets before falling 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Christensen remained undefeated for the Tigers at #3 singles knocking out Valentina Starkova 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, while newcomer Mahdi Besovic derailed Alex Siegel 6-0, 6-1. Besovic pushed her season mark to 2-1 with the victory.
For more information on Mizzou Tennis, please visit our website at mutigers.com.
Day One Results of the UCF Tournament
Doubles
Jennifer Rabot/Mara Schmidt (Purdue) def. Kaitlyn Ritchie/Mallory Weber (Missouri) 8-5
Jamie Mera/Maria Christensen (Missouri) def. Gisella Pere/Anna Dushkina (Purdue) 8-6
Imogen Golder/Bhavani Tirumurti (Purdue) def. Rachel Stuhlmann/Annemijn Koenen (Missouri) 8-5
Singles
No. 76 Kate Lukomskaya (Arkansas) def. Kaitlyn Ritchie (Missouri) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Emily Carbone (Arkansas) def. Mallory Weber (Missouri) 6-2, 6-3
Maria Christensen (Missouri) def. Valentina Starkova (Arkansas) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Jade Frampton (Arkansas) def. Jamie Mera (Missouri) 6-3, 6-3
Kelsey Sundaram (Arkansas) def. Rachel Stuhlmann (Missouri) 6-0, 6-1
Stephanie Roy (Arkansas) def. Annemijn Koenen (Missouri) 6-1, 6-1
Mahdi Besovic (Missouri) def. Alex Siegel (Arkansas) 6-0, 6-1
## MIZZOU TENNIS ##