COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Tennis set the tone early at the ITA Central Regional in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The event hosts 23 teams and more than 130 individual student-athletes from Oct. 15-19. On the opening day of competition Thursday, the Tigers posted a 10-2 record as a team, going 6-0 in doubles matches. All three of Mizzou's doubles pairings are still alive as they each advanced to third round of the main draw.
Junior Cassidy Spearman and sophomore Brianna Lashway began the day by dispatching South Dakota State's Elif Gabb and Florencia Magni, 8-4. Lashway and Spearman went on to down Lily Myazaki and Simran Sethi of Oklahoma in the next round, 8-5, to catapult into the third round.
Senior Kelli Hine and junior Bea Machado Santos, Mizzou's usual No. 2 doubles pairing, saw similar success on day one of the ITA Central Regional. Hine and Santos beat Tulsa's Renata Kuricova and Marcelina Cichon in the opening round, 8-6, before edging Maria Jose Cardona and Nina Khmelnitckaia of Kansas, 8-5, to remain unblemished and advance in the bracket.
Sophomore Clare Raley and junior Brittany Lashway rounded out Mizzou's perfect day of doubles competition with a pair of victories. The duo prevailed 8-6 in a tight opening round match against Minnesota's Caroline Ryba and Mehvish Safdar. Then, Raley and Brittany Lashway shut out Kylie Boyer and Molly Matricardi of Nebraska-Omaha, 8-0, to advance to third round.
Thursday also featured the first round of the ITA Central Regional singles draw. With Hine receiving a bye to the second round, the other six Tigers competed in singles matches and went a combined 4-2 on the afternoon, as both Lashways, Raley and Spearman came away with wins. Action in both the doubles and singles draws will continue Friday, Oct. 16 in Stillwater. For all the latest on Mizzou Tennis, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter @MizzouTennis.
Day One Results:
Doubles Round of 64:
Cassidy Spearman/Brianna Lashway (Mizzou) def. Elif Gabb and Florencia Magni (South Dakota St.), 8-4
Kelli Hine/Bea Machado Santos (Mizzou) def. Renta Kuricova and Marcelin Cichon (Tulsa), 8-6
Clare Raley/Brittany Lashway (Mizzou) def. Caroline Ryba/Mehvish Safdar (Minnesota), 8-6
Doubles Round of 32:
Cassidy Spearman/Brianna Lashway (Mizzou) def. Lily Myazaki and Simran Sethi (Oklahoma), 8-5
Kelli Hine/Bea Macahdo Santos (Mizzou) def. Maria Jose Cardona and Nina Khmelnitckaia (Kansas), 8-5
Clare Raley/Brittany Lashway (Mizzou) def. Kylie Boyer/Molly Matricardi (UNO), 8-0
Singles Round of 28:
Kelli Hine (Mizzou) BYE
Cassidy Spearman (Mizzou) def. Alina Pepper (Oklahoma), 6-0, 6-1
Brianna Lashway (Mizzou) def. Maja Vujic (Minnesota), 6-4, 6-2
Brittany Lashway (Mizzou) def. Meagan Monaghan (SIU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Rebecca Pedrazzi (Wichita State) def. Turner Yates (Mizzou), 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
Julia Courter (Minnesota) def. Bea Machado Santos (Mizzou), 7-5, 7-5
Clare Raley (Mizzou) def. Maria Jose Cardona (Kansas), 6-3, 7-6 (5)