Spartans Boast Three Wins Over Ranked Players in Clash with No. 7 William Woods
WWU RESULTS
STLCOP RESULTS
ST. LOUIS – While the 10-match winning streak came to an end Friday at the mercy of seventh-ranked William Woods University, the Missouri Baptist University women's tennis team didn't go down without a fight. The Spartans won at the top three singles positions in the 6-3 loss to the Owls.
Even more impressive with the three solo wins for Missouri Baptist was that they all came against Owls ranked in the top 50 of the latest Oracle/ITA NAIA Women's Tennis National Rankings. At No. 1,
Tamara Klimek easily defeated Karyna Sagalai (#41), 6-2, 6-1. In the No. 2 slot,
Thais Castiglioni had a back-and-forth match with one the Owls' highest rated players Zlata Shuraeva (#24) and prevailed 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-4. At No. 3 singles, reigning AMC Women's Tennis Player of the Week
Krista Tyson defeated Julia Perez (#50) by a score of 6-1, 7-6 (0).
Earlier in the match, MBU's No. 1 pair – Klimek & Tyson – nearly pulled off the upset of WWU's Julia Mulder and Abigail Lemberger, pushing them to the limits before falling, 8-6.
Later in the day, the Spartans secured their 12
th win of the season as they breezed past St. Louis College of Pharmacy, 9-0. It was a collective team effort as Klimek,
Emily Brown,
Dani Stevenson,
Cheyenne Anderson,
Lindsey Burgess and
Elizabeth Siegfried all picked up individual victories in that respective order. Tyson, Castiglioni and
Rafaela Davide all chipped in during doubles play in the win.
With the split between WWU and STLCOP on Friday, the Missouri Baptist women carry a 12-3 record heading into next weekend's AMC/HAAC Unaffiliated Group Tournament, which will be held here in St. Louis.
