Women's Tennis | January 19

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Northern Illinois University junior Nataly Ninova and freshmen Irmak Budak and Lucia Yecora recorded singles victories over Missouri, but the Tigers were able to claim the doubles point to earn a 4-3 win over NIU Sunday at the Green Tennis Center in Columbia.
 
"That's a good match for us, we can really build on that," said NIU head coach Eric Burns. "I was proud of the way we played tonight. We thought we could win, and we had our chances for it to come down to a tiebreaker in doubles. This was a good trip to go 2-1 on our opening weekend."
 
The match was close from the start as two of the three doubles matches went to tiebreakers. NIU's Jenna Horne and Reagan Welch put the first win on the board for NIU with a 7-3 victory in the tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles, Missouri evened the doubles with a 7-5 win at No. 1 as the point came down to a tiebreaker at the No. 2 spot. Missouri's No. 2 pair of Andrea Artimedi and Mary Brumfield earned the doubles point for the Tigers with a 7-4 tiebreaker win over NIU's Isabella Righi and Yecora.
 
"Jenna and Reagan played very well in their tiebreaker to get the win, and we had a chance to win at No. 1 [doubles] as well," Burns said. "In singles, we switched Nataly and Irmak [at the No. 2 and 3 singles positions] and both played well to win those matches. Lucia had a great comeback. She really battled against a tough opponent who seemed to just not make any mistakes. After losing 6-1 in the first set, she really hung in there and battled to get that win in a long match."
 
Ninova put the Huskies' first point on the board with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Zoe Lazar at No. 3 singles. After the Tigers scored their second point with a win at No. 1 singles, Budak tied the match at 2-2 as she defeated Lailaa Bashir, 7-5, 6-1 in the No. 2 spot. Straight set wins at 5 and 6 singles clinched the match for Missouri. Yecora's 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 win closed out the match and provided the Huskies' third point.
 
NIU (2-1) opens its home dual season next Saturday, January 25 with a pair of matches at the Nelson Tennis Center beginning at 9 a.m. versus Northern Iowa, followed by a 1 p.m. meeting with Eastern Illinois.
 
Missouri 4, NIU 3
Green Tennis Center
Columbia, Mo.
 
Singles

1. Inah Canete (MU) def. Maria Dzemeshkevich (NIU) 6-4, 6-0
2. Irmak Budak (NIU) def. Lailaa Bashir (MU) 7-5, 6-1
3. Nataly Ninova (NIU) def. Zoe Lazar (MU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Lucia Yecora (NIU) def. Gian Octa (MU) 1-6, 7-5, 7-5
5. Andrea Artimedi (MU) def. Reagan Welch (NIU) 6-0, 6-1
6. Korina Roso (MU) def. Jenna Horne (NIU) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles

1. Canete/Roso (MU) def. Dzemeshkevich/Ninova (NIU) 7-5
2. Artimedi/Brumfield (MU) def. Righi/Yecora (NIU) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Horne/Welch (NIU) def. Bashir/Lazar (MU) 7-6 (7-3)

Order of Finish
Singles: 3, 1, 2, 5, 6, 4,
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
 
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