July 14, 2006

Columbia, Mo. - It was a season of growth and development for Head Coach Blake Starkey's University of Missouri Tennis program. Headlined by the return of senior Hana Kraftova, Starkey's young squad entered the 2005-06 campaign with much anticipation and capitalized on the program's goal of development for the future. Starkey received regular contributions from four Tiger newcomers sparking excitement for the 2006-07 season, while witnessing seniors Kraftova and Kelly Crull close out their careers.

Hana Kraftova

Despite competing with a young, inexperienced group, Starkey welcomed back Kraftova, who entered her final season 11th in career singles wins at Missouri. A 15-match winner each of her first two seasons in the program, the Pilsen, Czech Republic, native needed just nine wins to move into the Tiger Top Eight and appeared destined to reach that milestone following a 4-0 start to her senior campaign.

Kraftova and the Tigers hurried to a promising start with a season-opening win against West Virginia in the Ohio State Invitational. Kraftova and Lubica Nadasska earned straight-set wins to fuel the Mizzou victory before the host Buckeyes earned a 6-1 win over the Tigers to secure the OSU Invitational title. While Kraftova picked up wins in both matches, Starkey got great contributions from a number of performers, including freshman Stephanie Johns, who enjoyed her first taste of Division I tennis.

After going 1-1 in Columbus, Ohio, the Tigers returned to Columbia for an eight-match home stand, in which they recorded a 4-4 mark. Mizzou started the home season with dominating wins over Drake (5-2) and Northern Illinois (7-0) before suffering a narrow miss against Oklahoma (4-3) in the Big 12-opener. Against the nationally-ranked Sooners, Kraftova upset then-No. 73 Gabby Baker to get the Tigers off to a quick start, but losses at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles proved too much to overcome in the narrow defeat. A 5-2 loss to Nebraska shortly thereafter dropped Mizzou to 0-2 in the Big 12 leading into non-conference contests against Montana State and Minnesota. The Tigers came out victorious, recording 7-0 and 5-2 wins respectively, but 5-2 losses to Texas Tech and Baylor dropped Mizzou back to the .500 mark (5-5, 0-4 Big 12). Adding to Missouri's woes was a season-ending injury suffered by Kraftova vs. Texas Tech. The loss of Kraftova, the Tigers' No. 1 singles player, forced the ninth-year coach to dig deeper into his youthful bench.

With Kraftova on the shelf, Mizzou looked to rebound once again during a two-match swing through Colorado. With Yelena Olshanskaya making her third start at No. 1 singles, the Tigers handled the Air Force Academy 6-1 to stop their two-match losing streak, before falling to Colorado 7-0 in a return to Big 12 competition.

(Left to Right) Val Dandik, Erika Josbena, Yelena Olshanskaya and Amanda Pratzel

After a week off for Spring Break, Mizzou returned to competition April 2 against No. 65 Oklahoma State. The newly-promoted Olshanskaya continued her strong play and registered her first Big 12 win of the year, defeating OSU's Iryna Tkachenko to highlight Mizzou's match. Despite the Olshanskaya win, OSU claimed a 5-2 team victory and kept the young Tigers winless in Big 12 action.

A three-match swing through the Sunflower State resulted in a 1-2 mark for Mizzou. On April 7, Missouri defeated non-conference foe Wichita State, 4-3, but suffered 6-1, 5-2 defeats respectively to rivals Kansas and Kansas State.

Mizzou was able to remedy its tough Big 12 start with a 4-3 win against Iowa State in Ames, Iowa. Olshanskaya, Erika Josbena, Amanda Pratzel and Chrissy Svetlic paced the Tiger effort, earning wins at No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 singles, to help the Tigers record their first win in conference action and start a season-long three-match win streak. That streak continued with 6-1 and 7-0 wins against Memphis and Saint Louis, highlighted by the Senior Day celebration for Kraftova and Crull following the Memphis victory.

Although road losses at Texas and Texas A&M closed out Big 12 action and a 4-0 loss to Oklahoma State in the opening round of the Big 12 Championships ended the Tiger campaign, it was certainly a year of growth for Mizzou. Starkey's youthful squad made great strides during the 2005-06 season, which was highlighted by a 9-1 non-conference mark. Injuries to top players Kraftova and Olshanskaya hampered Mizzou's ability to compete day-in and day-out in the rigorous Big 12 Conference, but a number of young standouts earned valuable experience, making the 2007 season a highly anticipated one for Mizzou.

The Tigers return four letterwinners from last season's 10-11 team. Charlotte Bellis, Josbena, Pratzel and Svetlic also played key roles for Mizzou down the stretch. As he has done throughout his nine seasons in Columbia, Starkey has worked tirelessly on the recruiting trail and has added two freshmen, Katelyn McKenzie and Kaitlin Dunham and one transfer, sophomore Raquel Wagner (Texas A&M) to supplement his roster, setting the stage for what should be an exciting season of Tennis at Mizzou in 2007.