Feb. 10, 2006

Columbia, Mo. -

The University of Missouri women's tennis team will open the home season with three matches this weekend.  Mizzou will play non-conference opponents Drake and Northern Illinois on Saturday and Sunday respectively, before opening the Big 12 season on Monday (Feb. 13) against Oklahoma.

 

The Tigers are currently 1-1 on the spring season after competing at the Ohio State Invitational last weekend.  At the OSU Invitational, Missouri defeated West Virginia (6-1) and was topped by host Ohio State (6-1).  After the Ohio State match, Tiger head coach Blake Starkey put the focus on the upcoming matches, "We just have to get ready for this weekend."  The three exciting matches include Monday's Big 12 foe No. 61 Oklahoma.

 

Noting the Tigers:

 

Kraftova is off to a great start

 Mizzou senior Hana Kraftova is currently 2-0 at the No. 1 singles position after defeating West Virginia's Monika Lykawa and Ohio State's Caitlin O'Keefe last weekend.  A tough test for Kraftova will come on Monday, when the Tigers host No. 61 Oklahoma, and their No. 1 singles player No. 73 Gabby Baker.

 

Tiger newcomer Chrissy Svetlic faces former team 

Sophomore transfer Chrissy Svetlic will face her former team, the Northern Illinois University Huskies, on Sunday.  Svetlic, a Kansas City, Mo. native, played her freshman season in DeKalb, Ill.  Svetlic primarily played at the No. 3 singles position and finished with a record of 14-13.  In doubles action, Chrissy was 14-10 in the No. 1 spot.  This season, Chrissy is 0-2 in singles action playing one match each at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots.  Svetlic is 1-1 in doubles matches, teaming up with Hana Kraftova to compete at the No. 1 doubles position for the Tigers.

 

Getting to Know The Tiger Opponents

 

About Drake:

 The Drake Bulldogs come into Saturday's match at 1-3 on the season.  The Bulldogs won their last match, defeating Air Force on Feb. 5 in Lincoln, Neb.  Head coach Ryun Ferrell's team has been picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference Coaches' Poll after sharing the regular season Conference championship last season. The Bulldogs are very young; nine of 10 of the Bulldog players are freshmen or sophomores.  Overall, the Tigers are 9-3 against Drake and last season the Tigers defeated Drake 6-1 in Columbia.

 

 

About Northern Illinois:

 The NIU Women's tennis team is also 1-3 on the season.  Head Coach Pontus Hiort's team is struggling because they have not filled the third doubles position or the No. 6 singles spot all season.  For the first four matches of the young season, the Huskies have had to forfeit the No. 3 doubles match and the No. 6 singles match.  Despite losing a singles point and a doubles match, NIU earned their first victory of the season on Feb. 6 against Eastern Illinois. 

 

About Oklahoma:

The No. 61 Oklahoma Sooners are 1-1 on the season after two matches at the Minnesota Court Classic.  At the Court Classic, the Sooners lost to No. 11 North Carolina and defeated host Minnesota.  Oklahoma's No. 1 singles player, No. 73 Gabby Baker, leads OU.  Baker is 1-1 on the season after defeating No. 87 Nischela Reddy of Minnesota.  In her first match of the season, Baker was defeated by No. 28 Jenna Long of North Carolina.  Head coach Mark Johnson's team is relatively young, with four juniors and no seniors, but one of those young players is sophomore star Gabby Baker.

 

Match Times and Information

 

Saturday's match against Drake will start at 2 p.m., Sunday's match against Northern Illinois will begin at 1 p.m., and Monday's Big 12 opener against Oklahoma will start at 3 p.m.  All matches will be held at the Green Tennis Center in Columbia and are open to the public.