University of Missouri
No. 24 Tennessee
No. 46 @MizzouTennis Narrowly Falls to No. 24 Tennessee, 4-3
4/8/2017 6:28:00 PM | Tennis
No. 17 duo Amina Ismail and Bea Machado Santos extend their doubles winning streak to five matches
COLUMBIA, MO. – No. 46 Mizzou (10-11) came up short in its comeback efforts, falling to No. 24 Tennessee (16-8), 4-3, Saturday afternoon at the Mizzou Tennis Complex. The Tigers received another doubles victory from the No. 17 pairing in the nation, junior Amina Ismail (Maineville, Ohio) and senior Bea Machado Santos (Lisbon, Portugal), but failed to win the doubles point resulting in a tough loss to another Top-25 opponent.
"Today was a tough one," head coach Colt Gaston said. "We're all tired of getting close. Everybody in this league is at the top. They're ranked high. But, it's about time that we decided that we're a great team as well. I'm proud of the girls to continue to fight the way that they do. We've faced adversity, we've been through this before. This was a tough one, but, moving forward we want to do some things a little differently and put ourselves in a spot to finish strong this season."
Santos and Ismail came into play winners of four straight doubles matches, all over ranked opponents. They had just been awarded the No. 17 ranking and they put their talents on display, easily dispatching the No. 1 pairing from Tennessee, 6-1. The victory improves their record this season to 11-4 and extends their winning streak to five matches.
After Tennessee took the doubles point, Mizzou needed to come from behind in singles play. Ismail carried her momentum into singles competition, taking the No. 5 match 6-2, 6-4 to tie the score, 1-1. This was the 14th singles victory of the season and first of conference play for Ismail, who extended her team lead in overall wins to an impressive 32 matches.
After Tennessee took the No. 3 match, junior Clare Raley (Atlanta, Ga.) earned a gritty win in the No. 6 match in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5. This was also the first conference victory of the season for Raley who earned her 13th overall win in today's action.
With the dual score tied, 2-2, Mizzou found itself with all three remaining matches in third sets. Just a short while later, Tennessee got a win at No. 2 despite a sensational effort from freshman Tate Schroeder (Centennial, Colo.). Schroeder, playing in her first career match at the No. 2 position, battled back from being down 1-6, 1-5, to force a third set before ultimately falling just short of victory, 1-6, 7-5, 4-6.
The Volunteers were one match away from winning the dual as the No. 1 singles match headed into a third set tiebreaker to determine a winner. The tiebreaker went back and forth with neither player getting more than a one-point lead. Santos had to fend off two match points before capitalizing on her first match point opportunity, winning the match 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) over No. 58 Brittany Lindl. This was the fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season for Santos and the ninth of her career. She improves her overall win total this year to 31, second most on the team behind Ismail.
However, just a few moments later, Tennessee took the No. 4 match in three sets to win the dual 4-3.
Mizzou will be back in action tomorrow as the Tigers host No. 2 Georgia at the Mizzou Tennis Complex. First serve is set for 1 p.m. and fans are encouraged to arrive early to celebrate the three seniors, Santos, Cassidy Spearman (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Kadi Fauble (Quincy, Ill.) with a pre-match Senior Day ceremony.
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 No. 17 Bea Machado Santos/Amina Ismail (MIZ) def. Brittany Lindl/Eve Repic (UT), 6-1
No. 2 Sadie Hammond/Gabby Schuck (UT) def. Cassidy Spearman/Tate Schroeder (MIZ), 6-3
No. 3 Johanna Silva/Ariadna Riley (UT) def. Clare Raley/Mackenzy Middlebrooks (MIZ), 7-5
Singles:
No. 1 Bea Machado Santos (MIZ) def. No. 58 Brittany Lindl (UT), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7).
No. 2 Eve Repic (UT) def. Tate Schroeder (MIZ), 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
No. 3 Sadie Hammond (UT) def. Cassidy Spearman (MIZ), 6-3, 7-6(1).
No. 4 Johanna Silva (UT) def. Mackenzy Middlebrooks (MIZ), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
No. 5 Amina Ismail (MIZ) def. Kim Kermit (UT), 6-2, 6-4.
No. 6 Clare Raley (MIZ) def. Gabby Schuck (UT), 7-5, 7-5.
Players Mentioned
