IOWA CITY, Iowa - Junior Mackenzy Middlebrooks (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and sophomore Ellie Wright (Gainesville, Fla.) of the Mizzou tennis team picked up quarterfinal and semifinal wins Monday morning to advance to the doubles final at the 2018 ITA Central Region Championships at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex in Iowa City, Iowa. The title match is slated for 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.
TOP TIGERS
Middlebrooks and Wright dispatched of a pair of doubles tandems to advance to Tuesday's final. The Tigers opened Monday action with an 8-2 quarterfinal win over Tulsa's Arianna Capogrosso and Martha Matoula. Middlebrooks and Wright then outdueled Oklahoma's Jasmine Asghar and Ivana Corley, 3-6, 6-2, 11-9, in semifinal action to move on to the championship match. They will face Martina Okalova and Vera Ploner of Tulsa in the final.
The Mizzou duo, who entered the event as the No. 8 doubles team, are a perfect 3-0 at the ITA Central Regional and 8-2 overall on the fall season.
QUOTABLES
Mizzou Head Coach Colt Gaston
"I was very proud of the ladies' effort today. In the first match we got off to a good start and played aggressive doubles the whole way, which is something Mackenzy and Ellie have been trying to focus on, so I was happy to see them build on that. In the second match I don't think we started the best but did a great job making adjustments to get back in it. The third set tiebreaker could have gone either way but I believe Ellie and Mackenzy's mindset of taking chances on big points paid off in the end. These two have been working hard and I know they are excited for the opportunity to play for a championship tomorrow."
UP NEXT
Middlebrooks and Wright play in the doubles title match at the 2018 ITA Central Region Championship on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 9 a.m.
MIZZOU RESULTS
Doubles Quarterfinals
Mackenzy Middlebrooks/Ellie Wright (MIZ) def. Arianna Capogrosso/Martha Matoula (Tulsa), 8-2
Doubles Semifinals
Mackenzy Middlebrooks/Ellie Wright (MIZ) def. Jasmine Asghar/Ivana Corley (OU) 3-6, 6-2, 11-9