Tennis Splits Final Home Matches Against No. 39 LSU And SLU

COLUMBIA, Mo. —  University of Missouri tennis takes splits doubleheader match on Sunday, April 7th, at the Country Club of Missouri, falling to No. 39 Louisiana State University 4-0 and closing the day with an afternoon win against Saint Louis, 5-2. 

After Mizzou’s final home stint, the Tigers’ record sits at 5-19 with two matches remaining in the regular season. The Tigers honored their three seniors, Mae Canete, Gabriela Martinez, and Romary Cardenas Rifka, and graduate student Emelie Schwarte, before their second match with a senior day ceremony.  

The Tigers began the day hot with doubles play, securing a win on court three and a close loss on court one, nearly grabbing the doubles point. The duo of Schwarte and sophomore Andrea Artimedi dominated their match in the No. 3 spot and won against LSU, 6-2. Ranked No. 65 M. Canete and junior Inah Canete could not pull away with the win and dropped 6-3 to LSU.

Walking into singles play down 1-0, Mizzou could not hold on and dropped to LSU on the No. 2, 4, and 5 courts. M. Canete pushed to the end of her match and contested on court one, ultimately going unfinished with LSU up 6-3, 5-3. 

Mizzou turned it on for their second match of the day against Saint Louis and snagged the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Schwarte and Artimedi secured the first doubles win in the No. 3 spot, 6-2. The Canete sisters dominated in the No. 1 spot with a 6-2 win over SLU that took Mizzou into singles play.

Going into doubles, the Tigers kept up the momentum and secured wins in the No. 1, 2, 5 and 6 spots to collect the match win over SLU. Cardenas Rifka wrapped up the match with her high-energy win on court six, tying her first set 6-6 and grabbing the 9-7 tiebreak to clinch the first set against the Billiken. The senior closed out the match with her 6-3 win in the second set that secured the last point to push the Tigers to a 5-2 win over SLU.

HEAD COACH BIANCA TURATI

“I thought that LSU adapted better to the very challenging windy conditions this morning than we did. They did a better job of being consistent and solid during the clutch moments of the matches, but I saw a great reaction from the team in the second match of the day against Saint Louis. It was a great test for us. Saint Louis has won a lot of matches this year, and they have a team of grinders and fighters, but our girls were persistent and mentally tough. They played with more confidence and found a way to get it done. It was a great team effort. Incredible energy by Ro in the last match of the day. She really put on a show and played some great physical tennis.”

UP NEXT

The Tigers will close out their regular season with a pair of SEC matches against Ole Miss on Friday, April 12th at 3 p.m. CT and Mississippi State on Sunday, April 14th. The first serve is set for Noon CT. 

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FULL RESULTS

Missouri 0, No. 39 Louisiana State University 4

Doubles:

1. Kenna Erickson/Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) def. No. 65 Inah Canete/Mae Canete (MIZ) 6-3

2. Gaby Rivera/Maya Tahan (LSU) def. Romary Cardenas Rifka/Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) 6-2

3. Andrea Artimedi/Emelie Schwarte (MIZ) def. Emma Grant/Aran Teixido Garcia (LSU) 6-2

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

Singles:

1. Aran Teixido Garcia (LSU) vs. Mae Canete (MIZ) 6-3, 5-3 uf

2. Anita Sahdiieva (LSU) def. Inah Canete (MIZ) 6-2, 6-3

3. Maya Tahan (LSU) vs. Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) 6-3, 4-2 uf

4. Gaby Rivera (LSU) def. Emelie Schwarte (MIZ) 6-2, 6-2 

5. Kenna Erickson (LSU) def. Romary Cardenas Rifka (MIZ) 6-1, 6-3

6. Emma Grant (LSU) vs. Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) uf

Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2

Missouri 5, Saint Louis 2

Doubles:

1. No. 65 Inah Canete/Mae Canete (MIZ) def. Kseniia Aleshina/Elizabeth Mintusova (SLU) 6-2

2. Nicolly Ferreira/Norhan Hesham (SLU) vs. Romary Cardenas Rifka/Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) 4-3 uf

3. Andrea Artimedi/Emelie Schwarte (MIZ) def. Sandra Gines/Emmerson White (SLU) 6-2

Order of Finish: 3, 1

Singles:

1. Mae Canete (MIZ) def. Elizabeth Mintusova (SLU) 6-2, 6-1

2. Inah Canete (MIZ) def. Norhan Hesham (SLU) 6-0, 6-4

3. Kseniia Aleshina (SLU) def. Gabriela Martinez (MIZ) 1-6, 7-5, 6-2

4. Sandra Gines (SLU) def. Emelie Schwarte (MIZ) by retirement 1-6, 6-4

5. Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) def. Fiorella Duran (SLU) 6-3, 6-1

6. Romary Cardenas Rifka (MIZ) def. Emmerson White (SLU) 6-6 (9-7), 6-3

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5, 3, 6