University of Missouri
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Mississippi State
@MizzouTennis Nabs Doubles Point But Falls at Mississippi State, 4-2
3/29/2019 7:07:00 PM | Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Mizzou tennis team earned the doubles point but lost a hard-fought match to Mississippi State, 4-2, Friday afternoon in Starkville, Miss.
The Tigers dropped to 13-9 overall on the year and 0-8 in Southeastern Conference competition, while the Bulldogs improved to 12-8 and 3-5.
DOUBLES
Missouri dropped the first doubles match but stormed back to win the final two and claim the doubles point for a 1-0 advantage over the Bulldogs.
After Janina Braun and Sara Lizariturry defeated juniors Gabrielle Goldin (Bradenton, Fla.) and Serena Nash (Bradford, England) at No. 3 action, 6-1, the Tigers evened things up with a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles from junior Mackenzy Middlebrooks (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and sophomore Marta Oliveira (Lisbon, Portugal) over Emma Antonaki and Anastasia Rentouli.
Sophomore Ellie Wright (Gainesville, Fla.) and freshman Lisa Fukutoku (Tokyo, Japan) trailed Mississipppi State's top doubles tandem of Magda Adaloglou and Tamara Racine 5-2, but the Tiger duo won five consecutive games to earn a 7-5 comeback victory and give the Tigers the doubles point.
SINGLES
The Bulldogs picked up wins at No. 1 and 2 singles to build a 2-1 lead, as No. 82 Rentouli beat Middlebrooks, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 and Nash fell to Adaloglou at No. 2, 6-3, 6-3.
Sophomore Taylor Gruber (Spicewood, Texas) evened the match as she earned win at No. 5 action. In a tight match, Gruber emerged with a 7-6, 7-6 win over Braun for a 2-2 team score.
At No. 4 singles, Racine claimed a three-set win over Wright, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, and Mississippi State clinched the win with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 victory for Rentouli against Fukutoku at No. 3 play.
QUOTABLES
Mizzou Head Coach Colt Gaston
"I thought we did a better job today in the doubles point, fighting back and playing the big points the way we wanted. But we didn't execute the same in singles. This is a tough league, the team knows and understands that we need to start competing our best down the stretch when it matters the most. We have to keep our heads up, take the positives out of today and put all our focus on our upcoming match against Ole Miss."
UP NEXT
Missouri travels to Oxford, Miss., to take on Ole Miss on Sunday, March 31 at 1 p.m. CT.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Lisa Fukutoku/Ellie Wright (MIZ) def. Magda Adalglou/Tamara Racine (MSU), 7-5
2. Mackenzy Middlebrooks/Marta Oliveira (MIZ) def. Emma Antonaki/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU), 6-3
3. Janina Braun/Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Gabrielle Goldin/Serena Nash (MIZ), 6-1
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. #82 Emma Antonaki (MSU) def. #119 Mackenzy Middlebrooks (MIZ), 6-2, 6-1
2. Magda Adaloglou (MSU) def. Serena Nash (MIZ), 6-3, 6-3
3. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Lisa Fukutoku (MIZ), 6-3, 5-7, 6-0
4. Tamara Rice (MSU) def. Ellie Wright (MIZ), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Taylor Gruber (MIZ) def. Janina Braun (MSU), 7-6, 7-6
6. Marta Oliveira (MIZ) vs. 7-5, 6-7, 3-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 1,2,5,4,3
Players Mentioned
