TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Missouri Western women’s tennis team (8-10, 0-5 MIAA) faced off against Northeastern State (6-6, 4-1 MIAA) on Sunday, losing to the RiverHawks by a score of 7-0 on the road.

Joanna Abreu Roman and Karolina Ström started the day off well for the Griffons, as the team’s top doubles pair gave Missouri Western a 6-2 victory on the number one courts. The win improves their record to 14-4 in duals doubles this season, with 11 of those wins coming on the number one courts.

Northeastern State would go on win the final two doubles matches. Bojana Vuksan and Federica Salmaso fell in a competitive 7-6 defeat, giving the RiverHawks the doubles advantage.

Northeastern State also managed to sweep the singles. Abreu Roman and Salmaso both played their way to a third set, but eventually lost their matchups. After splitting the first two sets in her match on the number three court, Abreu Roman lost in a narrow 10-8 third set.

Missouri Western Tennis will return home for the first of three-straight home duals, beginning with a non-conference matchup with Rockhurst (7-7) on April 2.

MWSU VS. NSU
SINGLES
#32 Tatjana Stoll (NSU) def. #69 Karolina Ström (MWSU) 6-1, 6-1
#29 Mayra Jovic (NSU) def. Mireia Birosta (MWSU) 6-1, 6-0
Betka Gombarova (NSU) def. Joanna Abreu Roman (MWSU) 6-1, 3-6, 10-8
Kristela Vidnere (NSU) def. Ciarra Gilmore (MWSU) 6-3, 6-2
Karla Tomaic (NSU) def. Federica Salmaso (MWSU) 6-4, 1-6, 10-2
Melissa Vera (NSU) def. Bojana Vuksan (MWSU) 6-0, 6-3

DOUBLES
Abreu Roman/Strom (MWSU) def. #26 Jovic/Stoll (NSU) 6-2
Vidnere/Gombarova (NSU) def. Alvarado Maldonado/Dunn (MWSU) 6-1
Vera/Warnock (NSU) def. Salmaso/Vuksan (MWSU) 7-6 (2-0)

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Central Oklahoma (17-10, 10-6) scored all of its runs in the final two innings to cover up a gem thrown by Missouri Western baseball (12-12, 9-7) starter Jacob Purl.

Purl exited in the eighth after striking out 12, walking none and allowing just one hit. UCO responded with three runs in the eighth and broke a 3-3 tie with two in the ninth to break a fourth-place tie with MWSU in the MIAA standings.

NOTABLES

• Purl’s 12 strikeouts were a career-high for the senior transfer and his zero walks were a season-low
• UCO’s first hit off Purl didn’t come until the sixth, a double down the right field line
• The Griffons scored two in the first off a Casey Danley home run and a Wyatt Meyer single that included an error by the UCO centerfielder that allowed Andrew Curry to score from first and Meyer to get to second
• Meyer drove in a run in the third with a double to left center
• UCO pitching held the Griffons without a hit the rest of the game after Meyer’s double
• Broncho starter Dylan Hall and the rest of the UCO pitching staff did its best to match Purl’s gem. Hall struck out eight and the next three UCO pitchers combined to strike out four more Griffon batters
• UCO got the ninth inning rally going on a controversial call at first. The umpire ruled Dusty Stroup’s throw from third base pulled Andrew Curry off the bag on a very close play that put UCO’s Kace Massner on to lead off the ninth.
• Three batters later, Massner scored what proved to be the winning run on a pinch-hit triple

UP NEXT

• Game two of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Forecasted rain in St. Joseph has forced Griffon Baseball to push back its home series against Central Oklahoma.

The three-game set will now begin with a single game at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 30 followed by game two at 1 p.m. on Sunday and the finale at noon on Monday. The teal game originally scheduled for Saturday will be moved to Sunday.

The two teams will enter the series tied for fourth in the MIAA standings. Missouri Western sits at 12-11 overall with a 9-6 conference record. Central Oklahoma is 16-10 overall.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA announced on Wednesday afternoon that Shi Qing Ong was named MIAA Women’s Co-Golfer of the Week. Ong receives the recognition for the second-consecutive week, sharing the honors this week with Hannah Perkins of Fort Hays State.

Ong receives the award after winning the Jennies Invitational in Warrensburg earlier this week. Ong has now won each tournament that Missouri Western has participated in this spring. After finishing the first round in second place following her score of 75 (+4), Ong completed an impressive second round with a 69 (-2) to win the event. Her second-round score was the best of any of the 75 golfers in the field, and also ties her career-best single-round score. She parred 26 of her 36 holes over the two rounds, while also adding four birdies.

With her win on Tuesday, Ong has now won three-straight events this spring. The victory also brings her career total at Missouri Western to 12.

Ong and Missouri Western will continue their spring season at the Henderson State Invitational in Arkadelphia, Arkansas on April 1.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Due to heavy rainfall forecasted for St. Joseph later this week, the Griffon Softball series against Lindenwood and Lincoln have been pushed back two days.

Missouri Western is now scheduled to host Lindenwood in a doubleheader on Sunday, March 31 beginning at 4 p.m. The doubleheader against Lincoln has been re-scheduled for Monday, April 1 beginning at 4 p.m. The change has also pushed back the Teal Games to the Lindenwood series on March 31. Both series are still subject to change based on the amount of rain St. Joseph receives later this week.

Griffon Baseball will also alter its weekend schedule due to the forecasted rain. The home series against Central Oklahoma will not begin on Friday, March 29. A determination on the full series schedule will be made on Thursday. That announcement will be posted on gogriffons.com and official Missouri Western Athletics social media outlets. Griffon Baseball’s Teal Game has also been re-scheduled for Sunday, March 31.

— MWSU Athletics —

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Missouri Western Women’s Golf took second place at the Jennies Golf Invitational on Tuesday. Shi Qing Ong continued her stellar play this spring, winning her third event in as many appearances this spring.

Missouri Western entered Tuesday in third place in the team standing, trailing Northwest Missouri by four strokes for second. The Griffons outshot Northwest Missouri by 15 strokes in the second round, leaping the Bearcats for a second-place finish with a total score of 629. Central Missouri walked away with the team victory on their home course with a score a 614. Missouri Western has now finished in the top-three in each of their three events this spring.

Ong makes it three-straight wins after her victory in Warrensburg. She entered round two in second place after her 75 (+4) on Monday before putting together the best single-round performance in the second round. Ong tied her career-best single-round score with a 69 (-2) to bring her overall score to 144 (+2), winning the event by five strokes. What led Ong to her third win of the season was her consistency, as she scored a par or birdie on 30 of her 36 holes in Warrensburg.

Anna Bech recorded another top-10 finish in her first season as Missouri Western, tying for 10th with a two-round total score of 158 (+16). Bech’s five birdies gave her the most at the event. She has now finished in the top-10 in all three of the Griffons’ tournaments this spring.

Jenna Kosmatka shot up 15 spots on Tuesday to tie for 20th with her 78 (+7) in the second round. Kosmatka’s second-round score in Warrensburg is her best single round of the season, besting her 81 at the Warrior Invitational on March 12.

Chong Yong scored back-to-back round scores of 82 (+11) to tie for 23rd. Katie Irvin finished with a two-round total of 183 in her first team appearance this spring.

Missouri Western Women’s Golf will head south for its next event as the team competes in the Henderson State Invitational on April 1 and 2.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Missouri Western Men’s Golf completed the third and final round of the Lindenwood Invitational on Tuesday. The Griffons finished in sixth place out of the 20 teams competing at the event.

The Griffons entered Tuesday in fourth following their 303 team score in the third round, bringing their overall score to 899. Missouri Western was one of four MIAA schools to finish in the top-six, with Lindenwood winning the event with a score of 869.

Patrick McCarthy led the Griffons on the scorecard, tying for 12th with a three-round total of 220. McCarthy’s best round came in the second when he shot a 71, which was also the best single-round score on the team.

Tom Buffington was the next-best score for the Griffons, finishing with a 224 to tie for 23rd. Jake Mikesch tied for 44th with a score of 232. Mikesch had the second-best round on the team when he shot a 72 in the opening round on Monday.

Lucas Horseman and Jett Simmons rounded out the Missouri Western scoring at Lindenwood, finishing with scores of 235 and 239 respectively.

The Griffons will have over one week before making the short trip to Kansas City for NSIC Regional Preview on April 15.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second time this season, Missouri Western baseball’s Anthony Castaneda was named MIAA Pitcher of the Week.

The senior shared the honor this week with Lindenwood’s Blake Beckmann. Castaneda matched his Missouri Western career-high and a Missouri Western single game record with 14 strikeouts in MWSU’s game two, 5-2 win at Lindenwood. It was the first time in nearly two months a team had scratched out more than a run on the senior from Woodlands, California, but Lindenwood didn’t do much else. He held the home team to seven hits across nine complete innings with just two walks to move to 6-0 on the season.

The senior leads the MIAA with six wins, 70 strikeouts and three complete games. His 1.56 ERA ranks second in the MIAA and opponents’ .202 batting average against him is the seventh-best in the MIAA.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western baseball team has added a previously unscheduled series to its schedule. Missouri Western will host Illinois-Springfield in a doubleheader on April 30 at the Spring Sports Complex.

The twin bill will begin at 3 p.m. and will help to make up for 11 home games the team had to either cancel or move to an off-campus site due to weather conditions.

This week the Griffons are scheduled to play four games, beginning with a non-conference game at Northwest Missouri Tuesday followed by a three-game home series against Central Oklahoma. That weekend series is scheduled to begin Friday, but is subject to change based on the forecast.

— MWSU Athletics —