March 3, 2011
Columbia, Mo. – The University of Missouri tennis team improved to 5-1 on the season on Sunday with a hardfought 4-3 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Green Tennis Center in Columbia, Mo. The win over the 65th-ranked Hawkeyes helped propel Mizzou into the ITA rankings for the first time since 2009, as the Tigers now stand ranked 58th as a squad.
The win also improved Mizzou's home record to 4-0 on the year.
Iowa took a 1-0 by winning the doubles point. Mizzou's no. 3 doubles partners Marlen Hacke and Jamie Mera defeated Iowa 8-2. Missouri attempted to win the doubles point but came up short after Iowa's Lynne Poggensee-Wei and Sonja Molnar defeated No. 1 partners Kaitlyn Ritchie and Mallory Weber 8-4. Iowa partners Jessica Young and Christina Harazin also beat Mizzou's Rachel Stuhlmann and Maria Christensen 8-7.
Determined to win at home, the Missouri Tigers contested until the very end in singles. Weber continued to impress as she overwhelmed Young (7-2, 6-2) at No. 2 and Hacke put pressure on Poggensee-Wei and won the match 7-5, 7-6. Christensen defeated Alexis Dorr in a remarkable match (6-1, 6-1). All the while, Stuhlmann overpowered Iowa's Ally Majercik 6-3, 6-0. It was Ritchie who was forced to put up a fight at No. 1 against Molnar. Ritchie blew away Molnar going 6-1 in the first set. Molnar came back and won the second set 4-6. In the end, it was Molnar who overcame Ritchie to win the No. 1 match. Missouri won the dual 4-3. Coaches Steven Stuckenschneider and Helena Besovic and the team were thrilled with such a challenging win.
Doubles:
1. Lynne Poggensee-Wei/Sonja Molnar vs. Kaitlyn Ritchie/Mallory Weber (8-4) IOWA
2. Jessica Young/Christina Harazin vs. Rachel Stuhlmann/Maria Christensen (8-7) IOWA
3. Cassandra Escobar/Ally Majercik vs. Marlen Hacke/Jamie Mera (8-2) MIZZOU
*IOWA WON DOUBLES POINT
Singles:
1. Ritchie/Molnar (6-1, 4-6, 6-6, 4-6) IOWA
2. Weber/Young (7-2, 6-2) MIZZOU
3. Hacke/Poggensee-Wei (7-5, 7-6) MIZZOU
4. Christensen/Alexis Dorr (6-1, 6-1) MIZZOU
5. Mera/Harazin (6-2, 6-4) IOWA
6. Stuhlmann/Majercik (6-3, 6-0) MIZZOU