MMI’s Bou and Ingram Fall in Semifinals; Ralston Loses in Final

Livingston, AL—The Marion Military Institute Lady Tigers participated in the USTA Campus Challenge at the University of West Alabama on Saturday. The one-day event featured two community college teams from Mississippi (East Central Community College and Meridian Community College), two four-year schools from Alabama (University of Montevallo and University of West Alabama), and Alabama's Marion Military Institute, the oldest military junior college in the nation.

The Lady Tigers' Paola Bou and Morgan Ingram reached the semifinal round of the Red Flight bracket. Bou defeated two Montevallo players (Emily Beatty, 6-4, and Merel van Zutphen, 6-1) to claim her spot, while Ingram posted a 6-0 win over Meridian's Jordyn Hull and a default win over West Alabama's Andrea Tomassone to claim hers.

Both of MMI's players bowed out in the semifinals. Bou lost 6-4 in a well-played and hard-fought match to West Alabama's Amina Mukhametshina, and Ingram fell 6-3 to Montevallo's Alina Munteanu.

In the Tiger Flight bracket, MMI's Makenzie Ralston defeated two Montevallo players (6-2 and 6-1) and an East Central player (6-1) before losing to West Alabama's Teona Tatishvilli, 6-1, in the final.

MMI's doubles teams of Bou/Alana Larcombe and Ralston/Bridget Mayfield were also impressive in their initial match play of the year. Bou and Larcombe defeated Montevallo's Beatty and Amanda Gautreaux, 4-2, and then lost a nail-biter, 4-3 (6), to West Alabama's Mukhametshina and Georgina Morral. Ralston and Mayfield, meanwhile, rattled off three consecutive match wins by scores of 4-3 (3), 4-0, and 4-0.

The Lady Tigers return home to play the Lady Eagles of Meridian Community College in a 1:00 p.m. match on Friday, September 16.