SPRINGFIELD – Flipping the script from last week, Missouri State women's tennis was on the other end of a closely-contested dual, this time emerging victorious Friday afternoon here over cross-town foe Drury, 4-3.
The dual win marked the first of head coach Ellie Burger's career. Burger was named to the position on June 1, 2022.
"Today was a super competitive match," Burger said. "I'm really proud of how the girls played with grit and fire and got the job done. We earned a big win with the doubles point and then carried that energy throughout the singles matches. I'm looking forward to seeing how they carry today's win into tomorrow's match against Eastern Illinois."
The dual began with promise for the Bears (1-1) as MSU secured the doubles point by virtue of victories in flights one and two. Although MoState dropped the first doubles match, the tandem of Tiera Jarmond/Mary Houston defeated Drury's Ewa Samberger/Kseniia Eremina, 7-5, in No. 1 doubles, while Alyson Piskulic/Diana Cabrera took down Drury's Alma Abazi/Nastasia Jedrychowski, 6-4, in the No. 2 position.
In singles action, MoState jumped out to a two-point advantage thanks to Piskulic's 6-1, 6-3 victory in the No. 5 slot against Drury's Leana Chanove. The Bears surrendered the No. 4 position but quickly rebounded thanks to Silva Avakian's No. 6 singles win against Drury's Maria Fernanda De la Torre Ugarte Espejo, 6-3, 6-4. Halfway through the singles matches, MSU needed one more win to take the dual, leading 3-1 against the Panthers.
However, Drury battled back and evened the dual at three apiece thanks to Panther victories in the Nos. 2 and 3 slots, including a three-set defeat of MSU's Houston by Drury's Samberger at the No. 3 position, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
The final match remaining was the No. 1 singles contest between Cabrera and Drury's Jedrychowski. A back-and-forth contest featuring exceptionally long rallies, Cabrera outlasted Jedrychowski in a three-set thriller, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (0) to obtain the fourth point for the Bears and defeat the Panthers. In total, the match lasted three hours and 43 minutes, the longest contest of the afternoon by over an hour.
The victory for Cabrera marked her fourth in two spring duals, tying doubles partner Piskulic for the most on the team. Neither of them have lost in singles or doubles in duals this season.
MoState women's tennis returns to Cooper Tennis Complex tomorrow, Feb. 4, at 1 p.m. for a dual against Eastern Illinois (0-2) in Springfield. Admission is free.
Results:
Singles
No. 1 – Diana Cabrera (MSU) def. Nastasia Jedrychowski (Drury), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0)
No. 2 – Clara Kuehnle (Drury) def. Juliette Robinson (MSU), 7-6 (4), 6-2
No. 3 – Ewa Samberger (Drury) def. Mary Houston (MSU), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1
No. 4 – Alma Abazi (Drury) def. Sandra Lukacova (MSU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 – Alyson Piskulic (MSU) def. Leana Chanove (Drury), 6-1, 6-3
No. 6 – Silva Avakian (MSU) def. Maria Fernanda De la Torre Ugarte Espejo (Drury), 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish – 5,4,6,2,3,1
Doubles
No .1 – Mary Houston/Tiera Jarmond (MSU) def. Ewa Samberger/Kseniia Eremina (Drury), 7-5
No. 2 – Diana Cabrera/Alyson Piskulic (MSU) def. Alma Abazi/Nastasia Jedrychowski (Drury), 6-4
No. 3 – Maria Fernanda De la Torre Ugarte Espejo/Clara Kuehnle (Drury) def. Sandra Lukacova/Juliette Robinson (MSU), 6-3
Order of finish – 3,2,1
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