April 24, 2001

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The University of Missouri women's tennis team (13-9 overall, 2-8 in the Big 12 Conference) will play 12th-ranked Oklahoma State prior to beginning the 2001 Big 12 Tennis Championships in Waco, Texas. The tournament starts Thursday and concludes with Sunday's championship match. It will be held at Baylor's newly-constructed Tennis Center.

The Missouri/Oklahoma State match will be Wednesday at 5 p.m. Missouri, the 10th seed, meets Kansas, the seventh seed, Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Baylor Stadium Courts in the tournament's first round. The winner of the MU/KU match will play Oklahoma State, the second seed.

Recent Action: The Tigers fell 6-1 to 14th-ranked Texas and 4-3 to 44th-ranked Southern Methodist this past weekend. Both matches were at the MU Outdoor Tennis Complex.

Recent Big 12 Tournaments: Missouri, the 12th seed, lost 5-0 to Kansas State, the fifth seed, in the first round of the 2000 Big 12 Tournaments. In the 1999 Big 12 Tournament, #11 Missouri fell 5-1 to #6 Oklahoma State.

On the Verge: Missouri freshman Cassie Drake (Stillwell, Kan.) has tied the school record for most wins in a season. She has won 21 matches this year.

Head Coach: The Tigers are under the direction of Blake Starkey. Starkey, an 1989 Eastern Kentucky graduate, is in his fourth season at Missouri and has guided Mizzou to two 10-or-more win seasons in the past three years.