Tennis Fall Short At No. 15 Alabama, 4-2

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Missouri tennis battled against No. 15 University of Alabama on Sunday, March 10, at the University of Alabama Tennis Center, walking away with a close loss of 4-2. This match moves the Tiger’s season record to 4-12, searching for their first SEC victory for the 2024 campaign. 

Mizzou opened the day with doubles action and could not pull away with the point, falling to Alabama in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots. Seniors Gabriela Martinez and Romary Cardenas Rifka faced off in a hard-fought match in the No. 2 spot that went unfinished with the Tigers up, 5-4. 

Heading into singles play, the Tigers turned on the heat and split the singles matches against the Tide, 2-2. Senior Mae Canete faced off against No. 32 Loudmilla Bencheikh on the No. 1 court and walked away with the win for the Tigers, 6-4, 6-3. Sophomore Andrea Artimedia dominated on the No. 6 court and secured the second point for Mizzou, 6-3, 6-1. 

HEAD COACH BIANCA TURATI

“The girls fought really hard today. In singles particularly I saw the right mentality, attitude, fighting spirit and the desire to win. All of that combined with some good tennis. I see that the work we are putting in is paying off, and we are getting closer to the level we can play at. The result today shows that. We lost a hard battle against a top 15 team on the road. Our mentality, toughness and attitude on the court are crucial components if we want to keep performing at a high level. We have to keep working on that, along with our game development and skills.” 

UP NEXT 

The Tigers continue their road streak with a match against the University of Arkansas on Sunday, March 17, in Fayetteville, Ark. First serve against the Razorbacks is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT.

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FULL RESULTS

Missouri 2, Alabama 4

Doubles: 

No. 20 Anne Marie Hiser/Loudmilla Bencheikh (BAMA) def. No. 33 Mae Canete/Inah Canete (MIZ) 6-2

Gabriela Martinez/Romary Cardenas Rifka (MIZ) vs. Petra Sedlackova/Anna Parkhomenko (BAMA) 5-4, uf

Ola Pitak/Klara Milicevic (BAMA) def. Emelie Schwarte/Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) 6-4

Singles: 

Mae Canete (MIZ) def. No. 32 Loudmilla Bencheikh (BAMA) 6-4, 6-3

No. 83 Petra Sedlackova (BAMA) def. Inah Canete (MIZ) 6-2, 6-3

No. 116 Ola Pitak (BAMA) def. Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) 6-2, 6-4

Emelie Schwarte (MIZ) def. Anna Parkhomenko (BAMA) 3-6, 4-4, uf 

Klara Milicevic (BAMA) def. Romary Cardenas Rifka (MIZ) 6-1, 6-3

Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) def. Priya Nelson (BAMA) 6-3, 6-1