Tigers come up short in several close matches; Fall 7-2 at Missouri Western

Fort Hays State University tennis fell 7-2 in a tightly contested conference match at Missouri Western on Saturday in St. Joseph, Mo. The Tigers fell down 3-0 after doubles play and were only able to claim two of six singles matches.

FHSU lost a couple of close battles in doubles play, which swung the match well in Missouri Western’s favor early, 3-0. The No. 2 team of Brittney Ricci and Katie Hipp lost 8-6 and the No. 3 team of Jessica Johnson and Michelle Miller lost 9-7. The No. 1 team of Camille Caron-Bedard and Reinette Strydom lost 8-2.

The Tigers were able to claim the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches in three sets. At No. 1 Caron-Bedard won 5-7, 7-5, 10-8 over Sarah Giraldo. At No. 2, Ricci defeated Sofia Aguilera 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.

FHSU nearly forced three sets in three other singles matches, which could have made the match really interesting. At No. 3 Michelle Miller forced a second set tiebreak, but fell by scores of 6-0, 7-6 (7-4) to Kayla Dysart. At No. 6 Jessica Johnson also forced a second set tiebreak, but lost by scores of 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) to Meara Smith. At No. 5 Katie Hipp almost forced a second set tiebreak, falling 6-1, 7-5 in her match with Denise Chiao.

The only singles match where Missouri Western had a commanding win was at No. 4, where Reinette Strydom lost 6-1, 6-0 to Yasmine El Ghazi.

The Tigers are now 7-6 overall and 0-4 in the MIAA. FHSU hosts two matches at home next week with Southwest Baptist (Thursday) and Lincoln (Saturday).