University of Missouri
Texas Tech
Missouri Falls to Texas Tech
4/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
April 29, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas - The eleventh-seeded Missouri women's tennis team was defeated in the first round of the 2010 Big 12 Championships on Friday afternoon, 4-1 by sixth-seeded Texas Tech. Missouri concludes its season with a 6-17 overall record, while No. 75 Texas Tech improves to 11-11, 6-6 Big 12, and will face No. 36 ranked and third-seeded Nebraska on Friday afternoon.
Missouri opened the afternoon, putting together a strong performance in doubles action, but falling short on capturing the point. Tiger juniors Mallory Weber and Kaitlyn Ritchie took an 8-3 victory over No. 78-ranked Kelsy Garland and Natalie Leitch at No. 1 doubles. The duo concludes the season with an 11-12 record overall, notching a 7-5 mark in conference play. The powerful performance at No. 1 was not enough, as the Lady Raiders captured the point with 8-5 wins at number two and three.
"We had our chances in doubles. They got a couple of games that I wish we could have taken," said head coach Blake Starkey.
The Lady Raiders quickly took control of the match in singles play, earning three straight victories, and the match.
Garland defeated freshman Maria Christensen at No. 3. Christensen concluded her debut season with the Tigers with a 9-14 record.
The next match to finish came at No. 5 singles, as Caroline Starck defeated freshman Andrea Lewis, 6-4, 6-1. Lewis, a native of Tulsa, Okla., concluded her first year in Columbia with a 17-17 singles mark including both the fall and spring seasons.
The lone victory for the Tigers came as the third singles match concluded, putting Missouri on the board with one. Junior Kaitlyn Ritchie cruised by Sandra Dynka, 6-1, 6-3. The win marks Ritchie's 50th of her career, tying her at No. 12 on Missouri's singles career wins list. She ended the spring season with an 8-14 record, winning two of her last three matches.
Texas Tech sealed the match for the Lady Raiders as Elizabeth Ullathorne outlasted Jamie Mera at No. 4 singles, 6-2, 6-3.
"We had a close one a few weeks ago at their place and I knew today it would be tight. If we had grabbed the doubles point it may have been an entirely different match. They just played better than we did," said Starkey. "I thought Kaitlyn played great today. She lost to her [opponent Sandra Dynka] a few weeks ago, and it was good to see her go out there and shake that. She played the way that she's capable of and I could not be more proud. We're going to get back and start getting to work very quickly in preparation for next year."
2010 Big 12 Women's Tennis Championships Penick-Allison Tennis Center • Austin, Texas No. 75 Texas Tech 4, Missouri 1 Doubles: 1. Mallory Weber/Kaitlyn Ritchie (MU) def. No. 78 Kelsy Garland/Natalie Leitch (TTU) 8-3 2. Sandra Dynka/Elizabeth Ullathorne (TTU) def. Kristen Bleakley/Andrea Lewis (MU) 8-5 3. Caroline Starck/Stefanie Peana (TTU) def. Sofia Ayala/Jamie Mera (MU) 8-5 Order of Finish: 1, 2, *3 Singles: 1. Kaitlyn Ritchie (MU) def. Sandra Dynka (TTU) 6-1, 6-3 2. Natalie Leitch (TTU) vs. Mallory Weber (MU) 7-6, 2-0 (DNF) 3. Kelsy Garland (TTU) def. Maria Christensen (MU) 6-4, 6-0 4. Elizabeth Ullathorne (TTU) def. Jamie Mera (MU) 6-2, 6-3 5. Caroline Starck (TTU) def. Andrea Lewis (MU) 6-4, 6-1 6. Lorena Aviles (TTU) vs. Sofia Ayala (MU) 6-4, 5-1 (DNF) Order of Finish: 3, 5, 1, *4 *-match decided
Players Mentioned
