The Missouri women’s tennis team will begin their spring season this Sunday at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kick-Off Weekend in Berkeley, California. The Tigers are looking to improve under head coach Colt Gaston, who was promoted from the interim coach position before the start of the fall season.
The 2016 team finished the season with a 16-11 record but went a paltry 3-10 in conference play. They failed to advance to the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament after having done so the past two years.
Entering the season, the Tigers are not garnering much respect from their SEC peers — the preseason coaches’ polls saw them voted last for the second straight year. Mizzou will look to build on their tough fall season and prove themselves to the conference coaches as they begin to navigate their spring schedule.
Missouri has plenty of experienced players on this season’s roster, having lost just one member from the 2015 team, senior Kelli Hine. Senior captain Bea Machado Santos will look to lead this year’s roster and compete in the No. 1 singles spot for a second straight year. Santos has the opportunity to improve on an already-impressive resume, which includes being named Second Team All-SEC and earning a selection to the 2016 NCAA Division I tennis championships. She was the first Tiger to qualify since 2003.
Junior Amina Ismail is entering her first spring season with the Tigers after transferring from Xavier University in August. Ismail recorded an impressive 15-6 overall record during the fall season and developed a strong chemistry with Santos in doubles competition as they advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Central Regional in October.
Two other players to watch this season are junior Brianna Lashway and freshman Mackenzy Middlebrooks. Lashway went 8-2 in singles matches in the fall, including posting wins in her first six matches to start the year. Middlebrooks was the 59th-ranked recruit in the 2016 class and was phenomenal in her first collegiate action, where she won 10 singles matches. She is expected be a serious force on Mizzou’s roster as they enter spring competition.
**Notable Dates:**
Missouri’s first home match will be Feb. 25 against Louisiana Tech. The Tigers will begin conference competition on March 5, when they visit the Arkansas Razorbacks. The nation’s No. 1-ranked Florida Gators will visit Columbia on March 26.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_