Missouri women’s tennis’ No. 1 pairing of senior captain Bea Machado Santos and junior Amina Ismail has earned a spot in the NCAA doubles tournament.
The duo finished the season ranked No. 10 in the nation, which helped them earn one of 23 at-large bids for the tournament issued Wednesday night. Santos and Ismail were not paired together this season until a March 10 matchup against Texas A&M. Prior to that, the doubles lineup had been extremely inconsistent as first-year head coach Colt Gaston searched for a winning combination. The Machado Santos and Ismail duo provided a stabilizing force that spearheaded the Tigers’ lineup with strong performances against several of the nation’s premier opponents. On April 6, Machado Santos and Ismail upset the No. 4-ranked pairing in the nation when Missouri visited the Kentucky Wildcats. Overall, the twosome finished 12-5 on the season with seven victories over ranked opponents.
Machado Santos and Ismail will have a chance to make history at the NCAA doubles tournament, which takes place May 24 in Athens, Georgia; since 2003, no Mizzou pairing has advanced past the first round of the tournament.
For Santos, the doubles selection wasn’t the only good news she received on Wednesday. The senior’s individual tennis career is still alive, as she landed the eighth alternate position in the singles tournament. The selection is a result of the hard work she has put forth this year, leading the Tigers with 21 doubles victories to go with three singles wins over ranked opponents.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_