March 12, 2001

The University of Missouri tennis team will play Kansas and Colorado in Big 12 Conference action this week at the MU Outdoor Complex. The Missouri/Kansas match will take place at 11 a.m. Wednesday while the Missouri/Colorado dual will be Saturday at 2 p.m.

Recent Action: The Tigers defeated Southeast Missouri 6-0 last weekend to improve to 9-3 on the season.

Opponents: Kansas is 6-5 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 play while Colorado is 5-5 overall and 1-0 in league play. CU plays Colorado State Tuesday.

Winning Streaks: The Tigers' success could be due to its lower half of the lineup. The 4-5-6 players in the MU lineup have posted a 28-8 record with all eight losses in Big 12 play.

Top Marks: A pair of freshman, Cassie Drake and Urska Juric, are off to hot starts. Drake has posted a 10-2 mark this spring while Juric is 8-3. Kristina Olshanskaya and Caitlin Thompson are both 9-3.

Head Coach: The Tigers are under the direction of Blake Starkey. Starkey, an 1989 Eastern Kentucky graduate, is in his fourth season at Missouri.

Next: Missouri heads to California to take on Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton on March 29-30.