Bianca Turati Head Coach | Curators of the University of Missouri
Bianca Turati Head Coach | Curators of the University of Missouri
The University of Missouri women's tennis team, ranked No. 58 nationally, is preparing for a key weekend as the regular season nears its end. The Tigers will host No. 34 Ole Miss in Columbia on Friday, March 28 at noon Central Time before heading to Baton Rouge for a doubleheader against No. 6 LSU and Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday, March 30.
Missouri currently holds an 11-8 overall record and is 2-7 in Southeastern Conference play. Last weekend, the Tigers split their conference matches, including a narrow 4-3 victory over No. 22 Florida on March 21. They later fell to No. 8 Auburn by a score of 4-0 on March 23. Graduate student Lailaa Bashir was recognized as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week following her performance.
Senior Inah Canete leads Missouri this season with 15 overall wins while primarily playing in the No. 2 singles position. Bashir has recorded 12 singles victories, and freshman Korina Roso has achieved double-digit wins with ten. In doubles play, Canete and Roso have partnered for a team-best record of 14-6, while Bashir and freshman Zoe Lazar have secured eight doubles wins.
Ole Miss enters Friday's match with a record of 10-8 (3-6 SEC) after defeating No. 13 Texas on March 23 but losing to No. 3 Texas A&M two days earlier. The Rebels feature two players—Ludmilla Kareisova and Lucie Petruzelova—with fifteen singles wins each this season. In doubles competition, Kareisova teams up with Anaelle Leclercq for a current ranking of No. 71 nationally.
LSU holds the No. 6 national ranking with a record of 17-3 (7-2 SEC), having only lost conference matches to top-ranked Georgia and third-ranked Texas A&M this month. Anita Sahdiieva leads LSU in singles with a record of fifteen wins and five losses; three LSU players are ranked in singles by the ITA: Cadence Brace (No. 42), Kayla Cross (No.50), and Tilwith Di Girolami (No.102). Both top doubles pairs are also ranked: Brace/Cross at No.7 and Di Girolami/Sahdiieva at No.29.
Southeastern Louisiana brings a record of ten wins and four losses (2-3 SLC) into Sunday's match-up, having won three out of their last four contests.
Friday's match against Ole Miss will take place at Green Tennis Center in Columbia with live stats and streaming available online, while Sunday's doubleheader versus LSU and Southeastern Louisiana will be held at LSU Tennis Complex in Baton Rouge.
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