Oct. 11, 1999
Fighting illness, the Missouri Tigers made it through their second fall tournament, the Hurricane Invitational hosted by Tulsa University. Head coach Blake Starkey had to rearrange his line-ups a bit, putting players like freshmen Kristina Olshanskaya and Marina Zelenovic together in Flight #1 doubles. The two had never played together. Many of the changes were due to a stomach virus that took junior Andrea Friedman and sophomore Caitlin Thompson out of doubles competition. The two were also unable to compete in singles, giving the Tigers two losses by default.
Missouri won 11 matches in the invitational, facing Big 12 Conference foes Oklahoma State and Texas Tech and Southern Methodist, Tulsa and Texas-Arlington. Kansas State also participated in the tournament, but did not compete against Missouri. Senior Jelena Kocergin was the lone champion for the Tigers. She defeated two Lady Techsters, making her way to the Flight #5 Championship. Missouri and Texas Tech finished the 1999 spring season tied for 10th in the Big 12 Conference.
"We played solid, considering it was a very long tournament," Starkey said. "But we still have a lot of work to do."
Hurricane Invitational Results
MARINA ZELENOVIC (Flight #1) Lost to Monica Poveda (TU):1-6, 1-6, Lost to Lisa Jackson (UTA):0-6, 3-6, Lost to Marie Stepanova (UTA):5-7, 3-6
8th place finish
ANDREA FRIEDMAN (Flight #2) Lost to Jana Sedivec (TU):Default
DNP-stomach virus
KRISTINA OLSHANSKAYA (Flight #2) Def. Marketa Cizova (UTA):6-1, 6-1, Lost to Bianca Posada (TU):2-6, 6-7, Lost to Jana Sedivec (TU):4-6, 2-6
4th place finish
CAITLIN THOMPSON (Flight #3) Lost to Michelle Colaninni (TTU):Default
DNP-stomach virus
JONI JORDAN (Flight #4) Def. Noel Ruiz (TTU):6-1, 6-0, Lost to Nioline van den Berg (UTA):2-6, 3-6, Lost to Priscilla Parra (UTA):7-6, 5-7, 4-6
4th place finish
JULIE THOMAS (Flight #4) Def. Sara Love Swaney (SMU):6-2, 7-6(3), Def. Priscilla Parra (UTA):6-3, 6-3, Lost to Nioline van den Berg (UTA):2-6, 6-2, 4-6,
2nd place finish
JELENA KOCERGIN (Flight #5) Def. Leslie Holton (TTU):6-1, 6-0, Def. Alissa Scott (SMU):6-3, 6-0, Def. Erin Pachnik (OSU):6-3, 6-3
Flight #5 Champion
OLSHANSKAYA/ZELENOVIC (Flight #1) Lost to Poveda/Sedivec (TU):0-8, Lost to Jackson/Cizova (UTA):4-8, Def. Colaninni/Earhart (TTU):Default (Flight #3 - Round Robin),Lost to Scott/Swaney (SMU):4-8
7th place finish
JORDAN/THOMAS (Flight #2) Lost to Stepanova/van den Berg (UTA):6-8, Lost to Pauchnik/Cameron Stoudt (OSU):5-8, Def. Barbara Huijjen/Whitney Gilliam (UTA):8-4 (Flight #3 - Round Robin),Def. Parra/Ward (UTA),8-5
7th place finish
JELENA KOCERGIN/Sandra Sailer (TU) (Flight #2) Def. Ruiz/Sonia Orellana (TTU):8-4, Lost to Katie Pruett/Patricia Ubeda-Diaz (SMU):4-8, Def. Posada/Kerry-Lea Glass (TU),8-4
3rd place finish