The youth and inexperience of Missouri women’s tennis showed this weekend as the Tigers opened their season in Athens, Georgia.
The Tigers were one of four teams competing in the Puerto Rico Fall Classic that was originally scheduled to be held in Puerto Rico but then moved due to the lasting effects of Hurricane Irma. Joining Missouri in Athens were Vanderbilt, a team that finished last season ranked No. 4 in the nation, and the Clemson Tigers.
Freshmen Ellie Wright and Ally Noback got their first taste of collegiate tennis as Missouri began the tournament with a doubles matchup against Vanderbilt on Friday. The duo relied on their chemistry built during the opening weeks of practice as they defeated the Commodores’ No. 3 pairing 6-3.
Sophomore Mackenzy Middlebrooks and senior Clare Raley collected Missouri’s only other win on the day as they bested Vanderbilt’s No. 2 doubles pairing 6-3.
Things turned bleak for the Tigers during singles play, as the team was unable to record a victory in any of their six singles matches.
On Saturday, Missouri had a set of singles matches against Clemson and a slate of doubles matches against tournament host Georgia.
Wright provided the lone bright spot for Missouri against Clemson, earning her first collegiate singles win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Missouri’s doubles lineup was thoroughly outmatched against Georgia as the Tigers pairings recorded a total of just six set victories through three matches, falling 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
The Tigers rounded out the weekend with a smattering of matchups against the tournaments’ other three contenders. Missouri faced off against the final Vanderbilt doubles pairing as well as two of Clemson’s doubles duos.
Freshman Marta Oliveira and sophomore transfer Serena Nash took down Clemson’s No. 2 pairing 6-4. The match had added intrigue as former Tiger Tate Schroeder made up one half of the Clemson duo. The match was Missouri’s lone victory on the day.
In singles, Missouri had three matches against Georgia in addition to a set of matches against Vanderbilt to close out the tournament. Missouri’s singles lineup failed to record a win for the second time in three days. The Commodores handed the Tigers straight set defeats in five of the matches.
Head Coach Colt Gaston recognized the amount of inexperience on his roster after the opening day of the tournament.
“You never know what to expect with a young team this early in the season, but they showed a lot of heart out there today, and we just need to execute down the stretch a little bit better,” Gaston said in a press release.
Missouri will look to put on a better showing next weekend as they return home to host in the Mizzou Invitational. Missouri will welcome non-conference opponents Kansas State, Memphis and Wichita State to Columbia.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Sept. 21 and will continue through Saturday, Sept. 23.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_
