Jan. 29, 2016
Schedule | Watch (Iowa/Match 1) | Watch (Iowa/Match 2) | Follow @MSUBearsTennis
SPRINGFIELD - The Missouri State women's tennis team begins a stretch of nine straight road matches with a doubleheader at Iowa beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, inside the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center. The Bears follow that with a trip to Omaha, Nebraska, to face Creighton in a dual at 11 a.m. Sunday at Hanscom Tennis Center.
MSU's doubleheader versus the Hawkeyes will feature a 'Clinch/Clinch' format during the second match, with both duals able to be streamed live courtesy of Iowa athletics. Links to both streams are available on the women's tennis schedule page at missouristatebears.com.
Last Match Overview
Missouri State had two matches go to third-set match tiebreakers and held leads in two others, but was unable to overcome Kansas State as the Bears lost to the Wildcats 7-0 on Saturday, Jan. 23, at Cooper Tennis Complex.
MSU's freshmen, Phoebe Boeschen and Faty Khamissi, went to third-set match tiebreakers. Boeschen opened with a 6-4 first-set victory at No. 4 singles, but dropped the second 6-2 and fell in the match tiebreaker 10-3 to Iva Bago. Khamissi took her first set 7-5 at the No. 5 slot, but lost 6-3 in the second and dropped a 10-8 match tiebreaker to Livia Cirnu.
The Bears lost in straight sets in their remaining singles matches. Kansas State won the doubles point by winning all three contests, while MSU's Ema Turudija and Boeschen finished with the closest effort in a 6-3 defeat to the Wildcats' Carolina Costamagna and Millie Stretton.
Learning to Finish out the Match
Despite a 7-0 loss to Kansas State in their last match, Missouri State had leads in four of the singles matches they competed in.
Ema Turudija held a 4-1 advantage in the first set at the No. 1 position. However, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region's 18th-ranked Sara Castellano of Kansas State came back to win the set 7-5, then finished the match off with a 6-2 second set. MSU's No. 2 singles player Anelisse Torrico Moreno dropped her first set to Carolina Costamagna 6-1, but went back-and-forth in the second before falling 7-5.
Boeschen and Khamissi each took their first sets at Nos. 4-5 singles, respectively, but were unable to win their third-set match tiebreakers. Khamissi has MSU's lone singles victory after their first two duals of the spring.
About Iowa
The Iowa Hawkeyes open their 2016 dual schedule Saturday and are led by seventh-year head coach Katie Dougherty. Three Hawkeyes - Adorabol Huckleby, Natalie Looney and Taylor Tamblyn - finished the fall with winning singles records. The Hawkeyes come off a season in which they went 8-13 overall and 2-9 in Big Ten play.
About Creighton
The Creighton Bluejays also open their 2016 dual schedule against the Bears Sunday and are led by 19th-year head coach Tom Lilly. Creighton went 10-13 during the 2014-15 season, which included a 4-3 victory over the Bears in Omaha on Feb. 27. The Bluejays lost their No. 1 and No. 3 singles players from a season ago, but return Katherine Nelson, who went 11-8 at the No. 2 slot last year.
Follow the Bears
Check out all the latest news and information on Bears tennis at MissouriStateBears.com and follow @MSUBearsTennis on Twitter for updates throughout the season.
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