April 30, 2003
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri tennis team has been invited to the NCAA Tennis Tournament for the first time in school history. The 64-team field was announced today as an anxious Tiger team watched for its name to be called. The Tigers will open play against number 21 Notre Dame in Nashville, Tennessee. The Tigers will face off against the Fighting Irish on either May 9th or 10th. If the Tigers were to advance they would take on the winner of Boston University and #15 Vanderbilt in the second round.
Missouri head coach Blake Starkey said, "I'm so happy for our team at this moment. They set small attainable goals all year, and were blue-collar with their approach to work and matches all year. They didn't get too excited when they won, and they didn't get too excited when they were beaten. They believed in themselves and just kept doing the work. We're glad we still have tennis left to play, and we're looking forward to our next match."
"After a big match earlier this year, Kristina told me it was going to be important to find some way to thank all the people in Columbia who have been coming out and supporting us all year. We've never had that before, and we can't put into words what it meant to our kids. People like Skip Walther and Barb Glenn and Molly Zitsch and Rhonda Kasai, all the kids, and on and on. I can't name you all, but if you came out and supported our players at any point during this year, then you know exactly who you are. And we publicly want to thank you. We had incredible crowd support, and it really made a difference to our players. They felt special, and always felt like they were part of something bigger than just individuals on a tennis court. We hope to see you out there next year, because tennis is exciting, and we plan on giving you and your families more great tennis to watch."
In all, eight Big 12 teams were selected for the field of 64. The Tigers, ranked 37th in the nation, experienced unparalleled success this year with a 6-5 conference record and an overall record of 15-7. Tiger veterans Urska Juric and Katka Sevcikova were named first-team All-Big 12 and freshman Hana Kraftova was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.