SPRINGFIELD – Diana Cabrera's second place finish at No. 1 singles headlined the Missouri State women's tennis results at the MVC Individual Championships at Cooper Tennis Complex Sunday morning.

"Diana played a strong match, and Belmont's player Mariia was a tough competitor," head coach Ellie Burger said. "We took a lot away from today's match, and we've got a solid plan moving into the ITA and into the spring season. I'm proud of how hard the girls competed this weekend. We're going to continue to get better every match."
 
Cabrera fell to Belmont's Mariia Hlahola, 6-2, 6-3 in the first-place match. Cabrera was down 0-5 in the second set but showed resilience and ripped off three straight games to make things interesting, but she ultimately came up short in the finals match.
 
"It's a championship match. So, you go with a little bit of a different mindset," Cabrera said. "There's pressure on the table, and I think staying committed is going to be the biggest thing for myself. During those points, regardless of whether it's a first match, a second match or a championship match."
 
Elsewhere, the doubles pair of Mary Houston and Silva Avakian took fourth place in No. 3 doubles after falling to Murray State's Marit Kreugel and Annika Pschorr, 8-2, in the third-place match.
 
"It gave us a lot to build on," Houston said. "We know what we did good, but we still have a lot to build on."
 
Avakian also recorded a fifth-place finish in No. 6 singles after her scheduled opponent, Belmont's Meredith Roberts, withdrew from the fifth-place match.
 
MSU now prepares for the International Tennis Association Regional Championships in Stillwater, Okla., beginning next Friday morning.