Columbia News

The University of Missouri women's tennis team ended its season with a 4-1 loss to Ole Miss in the opening round of the SEC Championship on April 16 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama.

Missouri, ranked No. 74 nationally, dropped the doubles point after losing matches at No. 2 and No. 3 positions. The pairing of Andrea Artimedi and Inah Canete on court two lost 6-3, while the top-seeded duo of Korina Roso and Zoe Lazar went unfinished against Ole Miss’s No. 23-ranked pair Kareisova and Leclercq-Ficher.

In singles play, Missouri took early leads by winning four first sets out of six matches. At No. 1 singles, Inah Canete faced off against No. 90-ranked Emily Welker, winning her first set in a tiebreak before the match was left unfinished with Canete trailing in the second set. Graduate student Lailaa Bashir also went unfinished at No. 3 after splitting sets and tying in the third.

Korina Roso secured Missouri’s only point by defeating Alice Soulie in three sets at No. 4 singles.

Head Coach Bianca Turati commented on the team's effort: "Today, the girls put up an incredible fight. They all battled until the very last point with pride. We came up short after a long 3-hour and 30-minute match. Korina did amazing. Inah also was getting close to winning her match at No. 1 singles. She truly ended her playing career by setting a great example. Lailaa was also in the 3rd set and close to winning her match in the second set. I couldn't be more proud."

Reflecting on the season, Turati said: "As for the season, I am incredibly satisfied. We achieved so much with this group. We showed we can be very competitive in the toughest conference in the country. We upset Florida for the first time in history. We were nationally ranked for several weeks. And that's such great progress. I want to thank Silvia for her incredible work. She made such a strong impact on the team, and working with her every day is a pleasure. Great coach and an awesome person. And, of course, I want to thank the whole team for their work and commitment and for representing Mizzou with pride."

For more information about Missouri Tigers women's tennis, updates are available on MUTigers.com as well as through their social media channels.

Missouri's final result was a single point from Roso's victory while Ole Miss clinched four points through doubles wins and singles victories from Ludmila Kareisova, Andrea Nova, Rachel Kryzak, along with Soulie’s loss to Roso.