COLUMBIA, MO. – No. 48 Mizzou (10-10, 1-8 SEC) dropped a road match to No. 11 Kentucky, 4-1, on Sunday in Lexington, Ky. Several singles matches were close, but the Tigers fell just short in a tight match.
In doubles play, Kentucky won at the No. 2 spot, 6-3, and at No. 3, 6-0 to clinch the point. Mizzou's No. 1 pairing of senior Bea Machado Santos (Lisbon, Portugal) and junior Amina Ismail (Maineville, Ohio) continued to shine, dispatching the Wildcats' fourth-ranked pairing, 6-2.
The win over the No. 4 duo in the nation was Santos and Ismail's highest ranked victory as a pairing. Mizzou's 64th-ranked duo has now won four consecutive matches over ranked opponents. Ismail and Santos improve to 4-2 in SEC play at the top doubles spot.
Mizzou freshman Tate Schroeder (Centennial, Colo.) stayed hot and breezed past Kentucky's Mami Adachi, 6-1, 6-2. Schroeder went 2-0 in singles play over the weekend and is now 13-3 in dual action this spring. She is 5-2 against Southeastern Conference opponents, Mizzou's best individual record in conference play. Schroeder is 17-9 overall in singles matches during her freshman campaign.
Kentucky responded with a win at No. 6 to go up 2-1 overall. The Wildcats also staved off Ismail at No. 5. Ismail dropped the first set, but came roaring back to claim the second set, 6-1, before coming up short in the decisive set, 2-6.
Kentucky narrowly secured the fourth and match-clinching point with a 7-5, 7-6 (7) win at No. 2 singles. Santos' close match at No. 1 was not finished with the seesaw score at 6-7, 5-4. Freshman Mackenzy Middlebrooks (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) was also locked in a tight matchup, trailing 6-7, 3-5 when Kentucky clinched the overall match.
Mizzou returns to Columbia, Mo., for its final two home matches against No. 23 Tennessee and No. 3 Georgia on Friday and Sunday, respectively. First serve against the Volunteers is set for 5 p.m. CT.
For all the latest on Mizzou Tennis, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook (MizzouTennis), Twitter (@MizzouTennis), and Instagram (@Mizzou_Tennis).
Match-by-Match Results:
Doubles:
No. 1 #64 Amina Ismail/Bea Machado Santos (MIZ) def. #4 Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (UK), 6-2
No. 2 Morgan Chumney/Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) def. Cassidy Spearman/Tate Schroeder (MIZ), 6-3
No. 3 Emily Fanning/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Clare Raley/Claire Sullivan (MIZ), 6-0
Singles:
No. 1 #19 Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) vs. Bea Machado Santos (MIZ), 7-6 (7), 4-5 unfinished
No. 2 Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) def. Cassidy Spearman (MIZ), 7-5, 7-6 (6)
No. 3 Tate Schroeder (MIZ) def. Mami Adachi (UK), 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Emily Fanning (UK) vs. Mackenzy Middlebrooks (MIZ), 7-6, 5-3 unfinished
No. 5 Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Amina Ismail (MIZ), 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
No. 6 Morgan Chumney (UK) def. Clare Raley (MIZ), 6-0, 6-3
