The season has officially started for Missouri tennis. After wrapping up a successful showing at the Penn Invitational in mid-September, the Tigers are gearing up for their next tournament, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Championships in Memphis, Tennessee, taking place from Oct. 9 to Oct. 14. 

With one event down, here’s a look at the state of the Tiger tennis team.

Lailaa Bashir

Bashir is the Tigers’ only graduate student after transferring from Grand Canyon University at the end of last season. Bashir has quite a few accolades to her name, including an ITA Cup small-college national title in 2019 and a Gulf Regional singles final victory in 2020. She also earned NAIA First-Team All-American honors in her sophomore season at Xavier University of Louisiana. 

While playing for Bellarmine and GCU, Bashir earned the first Power-5 singles win of her career in 2022 and won the WAC singles semi-final last season. One of the best moments of her career at GCU came when Bashir stepped up into the sixth singles court when her teammate, Elizaveta Morozova, went down with injury during the semi-final round of WAC Tournament. In that match against Libby Blair of Abilene Christian, Bashir posted a statement win, going 6-0 and 6-2, helping her team move on to the finals.

In her first season with the Tigers, Bashir is off to a hot start. She has a 6-2 overall record in her matches at the Penn Invitational. Despite not playing during the 2021-22 season, Bashir is Missouri’s oldest and most experienced player at 23-years-old and will be leading the team in her fifth season of collegiate tennis.

Inah Canete

Canete, a returning senior on the Tigers roster, is Missouri’s court one singles and doubles player. Canete is currently in her third season with the team after transferring from Central Oklahoma. 

Last year, paired up with her sister, Mae Canete, the duo advanced to the top-16 of the ITA Fall Championship and peaked at No. 16 in the ITA doubles rankings. In their top-32 matchup against Brown, the Canete sisters came back from down a set and 2-0, before making a comeback that allowed them to advance. In the quarterfinal, they faced the top duo in the country, where they ultimately lost after a great tournament performance. Now that her sister has graduated, Canete looks to build onto the previous season with her new doubles partner, freshman Korina Roso, and climb up the singles ladder as the new top court for Missouri. 

At the Penn Invitational, Canete excelled, pulling out a win over No. 24 Miyuka Kimoto of Syracuse. Overall in the tournament, Canete split her singles games 2-2 and won two out of three doubles games with Roso. She is poised for a huge breakout season in singles after a 4-12 record last year and has a great opportunity to push her doubles record even higher as a senior.

Mary Brumfield

Brumfield is another transfer head coach Bianca Turati added this offseason, playing her first three collegiate seasons for the University of Maryland. Brumfield graduated high school as a 5-star recruit and with her Terrapin teammate Selma Cardar, advanced to the ITA Division I Women’s Doubles Atlantic Regional Championship in back to back seasons. 

She’s no stranger to the spotlight, as she quickly took the number one doubles court during her freshman season at Maryland after starting 12-1 in the spring. Her strong play secured qualification for the ITA Fall Nationals, peaking at No.40 in doubles rankings. 

Over her time at Maryland, Brumfield totaled 64 competition wins, including a 43-30 record in doubles. Her last season with the Terrapins was cut short due to injury, but she’s bouncing back with some new scenery. Brumfield brings invaluable experience to the MU roster as she looks to contribute this season.

Sophia McLellan

McLellan is the final senior on the roster. A St. Louis native, she’s been with the Tigers her entire collegiate career. Last year was McLellan’s first season competing for the Tigers, and in the spring she played four total matches between doubles courts two and three. McLellan did not participate in the Penn Invitational.

Andrea Artimedi

Artimedi is the lone junior on the Tigers’ roster, with a resume to show for it. Her track record as a European junior tennis player is highlighted by big wins over ranked Women’s Tennis Association players, with tournament finals appearances and wins as well. 

Last season, Artimedi manned singles court six and doubles court three for the Tigers. Some of her biggest wins came against SEC opponents, including her doubles win over No.11 Alabama in the SEC tournament, and singles wins over Alabama and LSU competitors. With the new senior transfers shaking up Missouri’s courts, it’s unclear where Artimedi will play for her junior season.

Korina Roso

Roso is taking on a big role for Missouri early in her collegiate career, as she currently plays with Canete on doubles court one. During high school in Croatia, Roso earned two major tournament placements. She won the International Tennis Federation J30 Moster Open 18&U and came second out of 64 individuals in the 2023 ITF Slovenian Junior Open. Roso also earned second at the ITF Hotel Makar Open, winning four of her five matches during the event. In her first collegiate event, Roso went 2-2 in her doubles matches with Canete and 0-4 in singles.

Gian Octa

Octa is also playing well so far despite a big role for the Tigers as a freshman. As a junior player, Octa became a member of Team Ontario, finishing third at the 2022 U18 Fischer Outdoor Canadian Junior Nationals. She also finished ranked in the top 10 for Canadian Junior National rankings. At the Penn Invitational, Octa paired with Bashir for the second doubles court, going 2-2 on the event, along with a 3-0 start in singles. 

Sara Hartel

Hartel is the last member on the Tigers’ roster. Emerging as a strong junior player out of Heidelberg, Germany, Hartel earned the third-place title of the U18 German National Championships in high school. Additionally, Hartel has had good chemistry with Roso, as the pair played together in the Subotica Open 2022 hosted by Serbia. They won two matches to advance to the tournament’s semi-finals. 

Coach Turati has done a good job in building this roster with a mix of young talent and veteran leadership. Coach Turati’s track record as a former pro and ITA’s top ranked collegiate singles player should translate to an incredibly prepared and well coached Missouri team. How the Tigers perform at the ITA Regionals will reveal a lot about the strength of the program and what’s to come this season. 

Edited by Michael Stamps | mstamps@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Alana Sheba and Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com