Tennis Earns Opening Weekend Split In Oklahoma

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri tennis earned a split on the first weekend of the 2023 season, knocking off Tarleton State, 4-0, and falling to No. 4 Oklahoma, 7-0, at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

Mizzou moved its dual-meet record to 7-1 on the season.

“We had a productive trip to Oklahoma,” Head Coach Chris Wootton said. “We pushed the national finalist to raise their game and they did and picked up a decisive win over Tarleton State. Overall, a great start for this Tigers squad!”

The Tigers started off the day with a win at No. 3 doubles after Mae Canete and Emelie Schwarte posted a 6-2 victory. No. 1 doubles finished up next with Laura Masic and Inah Canete falling 6-2. The second doubles pairing of Gabriela Martinez and Andrea Artimedi were locked in a seesaw battle with a Top 25 doubles pairing – No. 22 Alexandra Pisareva and Layne Sleeth – but fell 6-4.

Oklahoma swept the singles matches with straight-set wins at No. 2, 4 and 6 singles. Schwarte pushed No. 3 singles to the tiebreaker and Mae Canete dropped a 7-6 (12-10) No. 1 singles heartbreaker in the first set, won the second set and lost the tiebreaker 11-9.

“We fell behind quickly on singles, but our most experienced college players showed the grit that we are known for in the SEC,” Wootton said. “The match lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes, which is one of the longer matches Oklahoma has played in the last few years.” 

Missouri came back strong in the second match, picking up the 4-0 win. The Tigers took two of three doubles matches and proceeded to get singles wins from Mae Canete (No. 1), Gabriela Martinez (No. 4) and Romary Cardneas-Rifka (No. 6) to seal the victory.

“We focused and put our foot on the gas in the second match when we needed it the most,” Wootton said. “Winning in a decisive fashion was our goal as a team and mission accomplished! This puts this Tiger team at 7-1 for the beginning of season. Looking forward to playing two more matches this week against Southeast Missouri and Central Arkansas.”

UP NEXT
Mizzou returns to action this week with a pair of dual matches in Springfield, Missouri. The Tigers face Central Arkansas on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 9 a.m. CT before taking on Southeast Missouri State on Friday, Jan. 20. The SEMO match will begin one hour after the conclusion of the Central Arkansas-SEMO match – slated for an 8 a.m. start.

#4 Oklahoma 7, Missouri 0

Singles  
1. Layne Sleeth (OU) def. Mae Canete (MIZ) 7-6 (12-10), 5-7, 1-0 [11-9] 2. #91 Carmen Corley (OU) def. #66 Laura Masic (MIZ) 6-2, 6-2
3. #86 Alexandra Pisareva (OU) def. Emelie Schwarte (MIZ) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 [10-5] 4. Dana Guzman (OU) def. Inah Canete (MIZ) 6-0, 6-3
5. Emma Staker (OU) def. Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) 7-5, 7-6 (4)
6. Julia Garcia Ruiz (OU) def. Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles 
1. Ivana Corley/Carmen Corley (OU) def. Laura Masic/Inah Canete (MIZ) 6-2
2. #22 Alexandra Pisareva/Layne Sleeth (OU) def. Gabriela Martinez/Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) 6-4
3. Emelie Schwarte/Mae Canete (MIZ) def. Julia Garcia Ruiz/Dana Guzman (OU) 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,4,6,3,5,1)

Missouri 4, Tarleton 0

Singles
1. Mae Canete (MIZ) def. Martha Makantasi (TAR) 6-1, 6-1
2. Emma Persson (TAR) vs. #66 Laura Masic (MIZ) 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
3. Celia Vaudiau (TAR) vs. Inah Canete (MIZ) 2-6, 6-0, 1-3, unfinished
4. Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) def. Ximena Morales (TAR) 6-0, 6-1
5. Laure Razet (TAR) vs. Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) 2-6, 3-4, unfinished
6. Romary Cadenas-Rifka (MIZ) def. Clara Sobius (TAR) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles
1. Martha Makantasi/Ximena Morales (TAR) vs. Laura Masic/Inah Canete (MIZ) 5-2, unfinished
2. Andrea Artimedi/Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) def. Emma Persson/Celia Vaudiau (TAR) 6-3
3. Emelie Schwarte/Mae Canete (MIZ) def. Laure Razet/Clara Sobius (TAR) 6-1

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,4,6)

FOLLOW THE TIGERS
Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Tennis. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Mizzou Tennis) and following us on Twitter (@MizzouTennis) and Instagram (Mizzou_Tennis).