SEPTEMBER ACES NEWSLETTER Mizzou Tennis
SEPTEMBER ACES NEWSLETTER Mizzou Tennis started the fall off strong with Amina Ismail and Marta Oliveira securing a No. 32 national ranking in the ITA National Preseason Doubles Ranking! Our first tournament of the season was scheduled for play in Puerto Rico, yet due to damage from Hurricane Irma, the Tigers went to Athens, Ga., to compete. Coach rented out a house on the golf course for staff and team members to have a great bonding weekend together. The team played games, grilled out and celebrate Clare Raley’s 21st birthday after finishing long days at the courts competing. We played three strong teams that weekend: Clemson, Vanderbilt, and host Georgia. We grew stronger as a family after cooking breakfasts and dinners together, enjoying intense ping‐pong duels and showing incredible heart and fight on the court. The Mizzou Invite was the very following weekend, and it was a quick turn‐around hosting Kansas State, Memphis, and Wichita State. It was amazing to be able to compete on our home courts for a fall tournament! Not all schools are lucky enough to host a home tournament in the fall, and we were so excited to play for all the family members and Mizzou Tennis fans that came to Columbia! It was a positive weekend and the Tigers had some great wins, with Clare Raley earning Tournament Singles Co‐ champion honors. It was a fantastic month of competing, bonding and training for your Tigers. Stay tuned as the girls keep training hard for the ITA Regional Tournament in Lawrence, Kan., for our last fall tournament of the year starting Oct. 18!
OCTOBER ACES NEWSLETTER Throughout October, the Tigers focused on building/growing together as a team, training hard on and off the court, and hosting recruits! Once the Tigers finished up the Mizzou Invite in September, it was time to practice hard in October to get ready for the last tournament of the season. The team had 2½ solid weeks of training and good practices for the ITA Central Regional tournament in Lawrence, Kan., arguably one of the most important tournaments of the fall! Working hard day in and day out to prepare for regionals helped the team grow stronger together, physically and mentally. Regionals is a tournament where every school from our region comes to compete against one another. There are a lot of solid teams in the draw and the Tigers were excited to compete against someone other than their own teammates! We ended the first day 8‐1 with five singles wins and three doubles wins. It was an awesome start to the tournament, and the team was hungry for more. On Day 2, Mackenzy Middlebrooks swept all her matches in the singles consolation bracket. On top of those great wins, Amina/Marta and Clare/Serena competed hard to advance to the quarterfinals of the doubles draw. On the way to the quarterfinals, Clare/Serena took down Wichita State’s No. 16‐ranked doubles team! On the third day, the Tigers picked up some extra matches and swept all seven singles, including Kenzy’s two matches in the back draw which led her into the semi‐finals! The last day Kenzy was the lone Tiger competing and took the consolation title. Overall, it was a great month of building, fighting, and competing as they start to close the fall season. The Tigers are looking forward to hard training, team‐building, and fun holiday dinners in November!
OCTOBER ACES NEWSLETTER Throughout October, the Tigers focused on building/growing together as a team, training hard on and off the court, and hosting recruits! Once the Tigers finished up the Mizzou Invite in September, it was time to practice hard in October to get ready for the last tournament of the season. The team had 2½ solid weeks of training and good practices for the ITA Central Regional tournament in Lawrence, Kan., arguably one of the most important tournaments of the fall! Working hard day in and day out to prepare for regionals helped the team grow stronger together, physically and mentally. Regionals is a tournament where every school from our region comes to compete against one another. There are a lot of solid teams in the draw and the Tigers were excited to compete against someone other than their own teammates! We ended the first day 8‐1 with five singles wins and three doubles wins. It was an awesome start to the tournament, and the team was hungry for more. On Day 2, Mackenzy Middlebrooks swept all her matches in the singles consolation bracket. On top of those great wins, Amina/Marta and Clare/Serena competed hard to advance to the quarterfinals of the doubles draw. On the way to the quarterfinals, Clare/Serena took down Wichita State’s No. 16‐ranked doubles team! On the third day, the Tigers picked up some extra matches and swept all seven singles, including Kenzy’s two matches in the back draw which led her into the semi‐finals! The last day Kenzy was the lone Tiger competing and took the consolation title. Overall, it was a great month of building, fighting, and competing as they start to close the fall season. The Tigers are looking forward to hard training, team‐building, and fun holiday dinners in November!
