University of Missouri
No. 8 California
@MizzouTennis Falls to No. 8 Cal in ITA Kick-Off Weekend Final
1/30/2017 8:17:00 PM | Tennis
Mizzou drops its first dual match of 2017 in a hard fought contest.
BERKELEY, CALIF. – Mizzou Tennis (1-1) dropped its first match of the season to No. 8 California (2-0) by a score of 4-0 Monday afternoon in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend Final in Berkeley, Calif. The Tigers dug themselves a hole early, losing the doubles point and two singles matches, and just couldn't get over the hump in the remaining four matches, resulting in a 4-0 loss.
Once Cal took the doubles point behind its No. 38 pairing of Karla Popovic and Olivia Hauger, Mizzou looked to gain ground in singles play. Cal started it off on fire, taking two quick matches, giving the Golden Bears a 3-0 lead.
On court No. 2, junior Brianna Lashway (Bradenton, Fla.) had the difficult assignment of facing Cal's No. 17 Karla Popovic. Lashway showed tremendous grit by forcing the opening set into a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Lashway pushed Popovic to her limits before eventually falling 7-6 (10). The match was abandoned in the second set once Cal had secured four points.
Senior Cassidy Spearman (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) had a strong showing in her match in the No. 3 position, taking on Denise Starr. Spearman took the opening set, 6-4, before dropping the second, 4-6. The match was so close, it may have still been going on had it not also been abandoned just one game into the third and final set.
Freshman Tate Schroeder (Centennial, Colo.) finished off her weekend well in her No. 4 singles matchup against Hauger. Schroeder fought hard in the first set, only to have it slip away, 5-7. But, she battled back in the second set to take a 3-1 lead before the match had to be abandoned.
Mizzou will continue its road trip with a stop in Logan, Utah to battle the Utah State Aggies on Wednesday at 12:00 pm C.T.
For all the latest on Mizzou Tennis, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook (MizzouTennis), Twitter (@MizzouTennis), and Instagram (@Mizzou_Tennis).
Match-by-Match Results:
Doubles:
- No. 1: Maya Jansen/Maegan Manasse (Cal) def. Bea Machado Santos/Clare Raley (MIZ), 6-1
- No. 2: No. 38 Karla Popovic/Olivia Hauger (Cal) def. Brianna Lashway/Amina Ismail (MIZ), 6-2
- No. 3: Alexis Nelson/Denise Starr (Cal) vs. Tate Schroeder/Cassidy Spearman (MIZ), 4-3 Abandoned
Singles:
- No. 1: No. 49 Maegan Manasse (Cal) def. Bea Machado Santos (MIZ), 6-0, 6-2
- No. 2: No. 17 Karla Popovic (Cal) vs. Brianna Lashway (MIZ), 7-6 (10), 3-0 Abandoned
- No. 3: Cassidy Spearman (MIZ) vs. Denise Starr (Cal), 6-4, 4-6, 0-1 Abandoned
- No. 4: Olivia Hauger (Cal) vs. Tate Schroeder (MIZ), 7-5, 1-3 Abandoned
- No. 5: Maya Jansen (Cal) def. Amina Ismail (MIZ), 6-0, 7-6 (0)
- No. 6: Maria Smith (Cal) def. Clare Raley (MIZ), 6-0, 6-0
Players Mentioned
