October 11, 2022

Missouri tennis began its season on a six-game winning streak without dropping a single point to an opponent. At the center of it all, stands the No. 1 doubles team of Inah and Mae Canete. Inah and Mae Canete are sisters from Los Angeles, California who started their college careers at Central Oklahoma, earning several honors for their play on the court.

Sophomore Inah Canete, the younger sister, was one of only four freshmen to earn the D-II National All American Honors. Inah finished as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central region Freshman of the Year, as well as the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Freshman of the Year. Junior Mae Canete, the other half of the duo, has earned two D-II National All-American honors herself. Mae finished as the D-II ITA National Singles Runner-Up,

Missouri Head Coach Chris Wootton said their experience has been huge for its team.
“The courage to play at D-II, transfer into the University of Missouri, the determination and the commitment to excellence that each one of them [shows] has been mindblowing,” Wootton said.

For Missouri tennis, success is earned.​ The Canete sisters have been putting in the necessary work to earn that success since the offseason.

“Since mid-July into August, they have been training and setting the highest standard you can possibly set,” Whootton said.

After finishing last season 7-20, Whooton understood Missouri tennis needed a boost. He believes the Canete sisters have exactly what that takes, tabbing them as “program changers.”

“This program will be forever changed because of the contributions that they will give to the University of Missouri Athletics and women’s tennis,” Whootton said.

While the standards set are high, the Canete sisters have proven themselves during the beginning of the season. In the first six games of the year, they are 6-0, only losing eight games among all of their matches. They have also each started 6-0 in their singles matches, continuing their winning traditions from last season.

The Canete sisters’ success is not an accident, as the sister duo has played tennis together for 14 years. For them, tennis was always a family affair as their father was a tennis coach, making it a part of their lives from a young age.

“We grew up playing tennis together, and we were always close to each other in age, so we would play in the same age group,” Inah said.

Coming from a D-II school to Missouri may sound daunting, yet the Canete sisters have handled the transition with positive spirits.

“It’s been different overall, (Missouri) is a Power five school, with a bigger campus and more support,” Inah said. “Everything has been on a much grander scale.”

More support from Missouri has been the biggest change for the Canete sisters.

“There’s a lot of resources available here that we weren’t able to get in Oklahoma,” Mae said. “That was super apparent when we got here.”

The change in scenery has not caused any change in their game. In fact, Whootton said it plays a huge part in the team’s success.

“Our athletics administration bringing in new staff and taking brave steps has caused a trickle down effect,” Whootton said. “When our administration is great at what they do, it makes me happy, and when I’m happy my players are happy.”

With the new season underway, the Canete sisters have their eyes set on winning.

“Our goal is just to do better than last year,” Mae said. “No matter where we are number wise, we did the best we could do as a whole.”

The Canete sisters have worked hard individually, but they said their success is helped greatly by each other.

“It’s always good to have a support system,” Inah said. “We can kind of read each other and check our vibes a bit. It allows us to be more flowing and seamless with each other. That good connection with us can spread towards the team.”

The Canete sisters said there is no sibling rivalry between them, instead it is more of a partnership.

“We help push each other. Even if it’s not competitive, we are helping each other get to the right place.” Mae said.

With the season ramping up, the Canete sisters look to continue their success through the individual portion of the season.

The Missouri tennis team travels to Nashville, Tennessee for their next matches on Friday.

Edited by Brandon Haynes | bhaynes@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Sam Acevedo and Julia Williams | jwilliams@themaneater.com

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One response to “Program Changers: Canete sisters driving Missouri tennis to success”

  1. Lukas Gabani says:

    This was very well written. Was this by a student?!

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