May 9, 2003
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Missouri tennis team lost in the first round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament today at the hands of Notre Dame 4-1 in Nashville, Tennessee today. The Tigers conclude their season with a final record of 15-8 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
The Tigers started the day off by losing the doubles point in a very competitive match at the top doubles spot. The Notre Dame team of Sarah Jane Connelly and Kristina Stastny defeated the Mizzou team of Mary Barry and Kristina Olshanskaya 8-3 and the Mizzou tandem of Lucie Ruskova and Hana Kraftova beat Notre Dame's Caylan Leslie and Jen Smith 8-5. The top Missouri duo of Urska Juric and Katka Sevcikova could not close out the doubles for the Tigers when they lost to the Irish team of Lauren Connelly and Alicia Salas 8-5. Missouri head coach Blake Starkey said, "The doubles point was the key to the match. We were very off at the No. 1 doubles spot. It's atypical for us to lose at that spot and it sort of set the tone for the entire match."
The Tigers started off singles play well when Urska Juric defeated Caylan Leslie 6-4, 6-2 but the Tigers could not grab any more points as Notre Dame clinched the victory. Sevcikova, Olshanskaya, and Barry were defeated in singles play that gave the Irish the 4-1 win. Starkey said, "In the singles, we didn't lose, we just ran out of time. Notre Dame played well and they are a very team. They just outplayed us in some spots."
The Tigers finished above .500 in conference for the first time in Big 12 history and recieved their first ever NCAA Tournament bid. Tigers Urska Juric and Katka Sevcikova were named first team All-Big 12 and freshman Hana Kraftova was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Missouri had their most successful season in Big 12 history.
Doubles
L. Connelly/Salas (ND) d. Juric/Sevcikova (MU) 8-5
S. Connelly/Stasny (ND) d. Barry/Olshanskaya (MU) 8-3
Ruskova/Kraftova (MU) d. Leslie/Smith (ND) 8-5
Singles
Juric (MU) d. Leslie (ND) 6-4, 6-2
Salas (ND) d. Sevcikova (MU) 6-3, 6-2
Stasny (ND) led Kraftova (MU) 7-5, 3-2
S. Connelly (ND) d. Olshanskaya (MU) 6-0, 6-1
Ruskova (MU) led L. Connelly (ND) 6-3, 2-5
Smith (ND) d. Barry (MU) 7-5, 6-1