SPRINGFIELD – After a hard-fought battle at the Tennis Cooper Complex, the Missouri State tennis team was defeated by Kansas City, 4-3, here Saturday afternoon.
Missouri State (0-6) gained the early advantage in doubles action to start the match, winning its first doubles point of the season to take an early lead against Kansas City (1-3). Playing in the second position, Alyson Piskulic and Mara Presot took down Anastassiya Timofeyeva and Joanna Cardona for the Bears' first win of the day. In the first spot, Mary Houston and Kate Miley earned a come-from-behind,7-6(9), win over Michela Xibilia Laura Munoz-Baroja to give MSU the upper hand.
With the early lead, the Bears moved onto singles play, where Juliette Robinson earned a victory for MSU in a quick, 6-4, 6-0, defeat of Munoz-Baroja playing in the second flight. From there, the team struggled to keep its momentum, dropping hard-fought matches, as Houston, Piskulic, Lukacova and Presot were all defeated in three sets. Playing in flight six, Miley earned the Bears' last point of the day, winning her third-straight match of the season over Kansas City's Tuana Tinaztepe, 8-6.
"Today's match did not go the way we wanted," said head coach Randall Knox. "We need to reset and think about what we can do better as a team. We're looking forward to getting back on the court and working hard."
MSU will get a week off before the team hosts Creighton on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m. The match will be played indoors at the Cooper Tennis Complex.
Order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 6
