April 25, 2006
Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's tennis team will begin play in the 2006 Big 12 Women's Tennis Championship on Thursday against No. 51 Oklahoma State. The match is scheduled to start at noon on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Live stats for the match will be available on Baylor's official Web site, www.baylorbears.com.
Missouri (10-11, 1-10 Big 12) is coming off two road losses to end the regular season. They are the 11th seed in the Championships. Saturday, the Tigers lost to then-No 19 Texas, 7-0. Sunday, they fell to then-No. 39 Texas A&M, 7-0.
The Cowgirls (13-9, 6-5 Big 12) have earned the sixth seed after a tiebreak between Kansas State and Nebraska. The three teams were tied for fifth place in the conference at 6-5, but the Cornhuskers got the fifth seed after comparing the three teams by their performance against the top teams in the conference.
The winner of the Thursday's first round match will advance to the quarterfinals to play the 20th-ranked Texas Longhorns, the third seed, at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Tiger Notes
Last Meeting Between the Two Teams In their only meeting this season, April 2, the then-No. 65 Cowgirls defeated Missouri, 5-2. In the match, the Tigers got singles wins from Yelena Olshanskaya at No. 1, and Amanda Pratzel at No. 5. At No. 2, Missouri's Lubica Nadasska lost her match in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, to OSU's Lauren Simmons. At No. 4, Erika Josbena also lost a three set match. Tigers' Val Dandik and Chrissy Svetlic fell in their matches at No. 3 and No. 6 respectively. In doubles action, the Tigers got a win at No. 2 doubles, as the duo of Pratzel and Erika Josbena teamed up to win their match, 8-3. Despite winning the No. 2 doubles match, the Tigers lost the doubles point after falling in the No. 1 and No. 3 matches. At No. 1, the Oklahoma State duo of Masnic and Yawna Allen defeated Olshanskaya and Pratzel 8-4. And at No. 3, the Missouri duo of Dandik and Nadasska fell to OSU's Tsivka and Osinska 8-6.
Results
No. 65 Oklahoma State 5 Missouri 2
Sunday April 2, 2006
Green Tennis Center, Columbia Missouri Indoor Courts
Singles
1. Yelena Olshanskaya (MU) def. Iryna Tkachenko 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
2. Lauren Simmons (OSU) def. Lubica Nadasska 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. Zana Masnic (OSU) def. Val Dandik 6-3, 6-2
4. Marta Tsivka (OSU) def. Erika Josbena 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6)
5. Amanda Pratzel (MU) def. Zuzanna Osinska 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
6. Jennifer Poskitt (OSU) def. Chrissy Svetlic 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
1. Zana Masnic/Yawna Allen (OSU) def. Yelena Olshanskaya/Chrissy Svetlic 8-4
2. Erika Josbena/Amanda Pratzel (MU) def. Iryna Tkachenko/Lauren Simmons 8-3
3. Marta Tsivka/Zuzanna Osinska (OSU) def. Val Dandik/Lubica Nadasska 8-6
Tigers All-Time in the Big 12 Championship Missouri is 3-9 in 12 matches in the Big 12 Women's Tennis Championship. Last season the Tigers defeated Oklahoma State in the first round before falling to Baylor in the second round.
Tigers and Cowgirls Meet for the 5th Time in Big 12 Championship History The meeting between Missouri and Oklahoma State will be a repeat of last season's first round match. It also marks the fifth time the Tigers and Cowgirls will meet in the history of the Big 12 Championships. In their first four matches against each other, the Cowgirls lead, 3-1.
Update on Pratzel's Winning Percentage After her two losses last weekend, Tiger junior Amanda Pratzel's singles record dropped to 15-6. The mark gives her a .714 winning percentage, tying her with senior Hana Kraftova for seventh in Missouri history. Kraftova finished the 2002-03 season with a 15-6 mark. If Pratzel wins her match against Oklahoma State, and the Tigers lose, she will be tied for sixth with teammate Charlotte Bellis, who went 16-6 last season.
Tigers Move Up Career Singles Wins Leader Board With 13 singles victories on the 2005-06 season, Tiger junior Yelena Olshanskaya has moved into eighth place in Mizzou's career singles wins leader board. Olshanskaya's current career record stands at 59-45. Tiger senior Hana Kraftova is right behind Olshanskaya in ninth place all-time. Kraftova's career record is 53-51, after an injury-shortened season in which she earned six victories.
In Doubles Action... With a 9-5 record in doubles action this season, Tiger senior Hana Kraftova has moved into sixth place all time at Missouri in career doubles wins with a record of 60-32. She moved up from ninth at the beginning of the season. Tiger junior Erika Josbena is currently tied for tenth place with a record of 48-53.
Two Tigers Selected to Big 12 10th Anniversary Team The Missouri doubles team of Katka Sevcikova and Urska Juric were selected to the Big 12 Conference women's 10th Anniversary Team. The duo made the All Big 12 first team in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In the 2001-02 season, they went 37-8, to give them a .822 winning percentage. The percentage made the duo the most successful doubles team in Missouri women's tennis history. Sevcikova and Juric also won both the 2001 and 2002 ITA Central Region Indoor Doubles Championship. In 2003, they qualified for the NCAA Doubles Tournament. A photo gallery of both men's and women's 10th Anniversary Team members can be found on the official Big 12 Web site, www.big12sports.com.
Projected Lineups
Singles
1. Yelena Olshanskaya (MU) vs Iryna Tkachenko (OSU)
2. Lubica Nadasska (MU) vs Lauren Simmons (OSU)
3. Erika Josbena (MU) vs Zana Masnic (OSU)
4. Amanda Pratzel (MU) vs Yawna Allen (OSU)
5. Chrissy Svetlic (MU) vs Marta Tsivka (OSU)
6. Charlotte Bellis (MU) vs Jennifer Poskitt (OSU)
Doubles
1. Olshanskaya/Svetlic (MU) vs Allen/Masnic (OSU)
2. Pratzel/Josbena (MU) vs Tkacchenko/Tsivka (OSU)
3. Nadasska/Bellis (MU) vs Zuzana Osinska/Simmons (OSU)