Oct. 1, 2003

Columbia, Mo.-- Missouri's #24 ranked Urska Juric has been selected to play in the prestigious All-American Tennis Championship for the second consecutive season. Only 32 players are invited to participate in the esteemed tournament held Thurs.-Sun., Oct. 9-12 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Juric joins the nationally recognized competition as the highest ranked singles player in the Big 12 Conference and is the only Big 12 player selected to the main draw of the tournament this season.

At last year's All-American, Juric recorded a 9-2 record in singles play and advanced to the finals of the All-American back-draw. She made history becoming the first pre-qualifying player to win three matches in both the pre-qualifying and qualifying rounds before advancing to the final round of the All-American competition.

In her final match of the qualifying round, Juric was down 0-5, 0-40, and down to her second serve, before coming back to win 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. The match was won before a large crowd that included Hollywood's Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.

In addition to her prowess as a singles player, Juric pairs up with Katka Sevcikova as the ninth-ranked doubles tandem in the nation. Earning berth to the tournament in doubles play as well, Mizzou's duo is the only Big 12 pair selected to play in the All-American main draw. Last year, the pair won six of their seven matches of the tournament.