University of Missouri
Memphis
Missouri Closes Home Season With Two Wins
4/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
April 16, 2006
Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's tennis team won its final two matches of the home season on Sunday, defeating Memphis, 6-1, and Saint Louis, 7-0. The final day of Missouri's home schedule included Tiger sophomore Chrissy Svetlic extending her winning streak to six matches, Amanda Pratzel improving her singles record to 15-4, and the celebration of Tiger seniors Hana Kraftova and Kelly Crull.
The day of tennis started at 10 a.m. with the first serve of the Memphis match. The Tigers won all three doubles matches to set the tone early. The Missouri duo of Yelena Olshanskaya and Chrissy Svetlic won their match at No. 1, while Amanda Pratzel and Erika Josbena won at No. 2. The duo of Lubica Nadasska and Charlotte Bellis won their match at No. 3, 8-0.
After the completion of the doubles matches, Missouri Head Coach Blake Starkey honored seniors Hana Kraftova and Kelly Crull in a strange Senior Day at the Green Tennis Center. The celebration was strange because both Missouri seniors, Kraftova and Crull were inactive for the final two matches of the home season. Kraftova has been out with a back injury for more than a month, and Crull is a reserve for the Tigers this season. After the ceremony, the two teams returned to the court to play the six singles matches.
In singles action, Coach Starkey decided to rest usual No. 1 singles player Yelena Olshanskaya to save her for the Saint Louis match. That decision moved every player up a spot in singles action. In her first match of the season at No. 1 singles, Missouri sophomore Lubica Nadasska defeated Memphis' Brooke Cowie in two sets, 6-4, 6-3. At No. 2, Missouri's Erika Josbena also won in straight sets, defeating Andrea Feichtinger, 6-1, 6-4. At No. 3 singles, Tiger junior Amanda Pratzel won her 14th singles match of the season, defeating Ekin Zafir, 6-1, 6-1. In the No. 4 singles spot, Missouri's Chrissy Svetlic won her fifth match in a row, defeating Memphis' Alex Tjioe in three sets.
While the doubles matches and the first four singles matches were played on the Green Tennis Center's indoor courts, the No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches were played on the outdoor courts in windy conditions. During the two outdoor matches, the players had to play in a 21 mph wind, with gusts reaching 29 mph. In the No. 5 singles match, Tiger freshman Stephanie Johns fell to Christina Wieser, 6-4, 6-2. At No. 6, Missouri's Charlotte Bellis earned her second singles victory of the season, defeating Flavia Russo, 6-1, 6-1.
After Missouri defeated Memphis, there was still work to do if they wanted to finish the home season in style. After about a half hour break, the Tigers and Billikens started their first three doubles matches on the indoor courts. Missouri went on to win two of three doubles matches to earn the doubles point. At No. 1 doubles, the Tiger duo of Olshanskaya and Svetlic defeated SLU's Lozanova and Grant, 8-6. At No. 3 doubles, the Missouri duo of Nadasska and Bellis beat SLU's McCullagh and Bokulic, 8-4. Missouri's Pratzel and Josbena fell in the No. 2 match.
In singles action, the Tigers won all six matches to shut out the Billikens, 7-0. This was the Tigers' third shutout of the season. After sitting out the No. 1 singles match in Missouri's win against Memphis, Tiger junior Yelena Olshanskaya defeated SLU's Amanda Hellberg in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. At No. 2 singles, Tiger Lubica Nadasska also earned a straight set victory, winning, 7-5, 6-3. Missouri's Erika Josbena defeated Ana Renda, 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 3 singles match.
At No. 4 singles, Missouri's Amanda Pratzel defeated Tara Grant, 6-0, 6-0, to improve her singles record to 15-4. Her season winning percentage is .789, which ties her for second place in the Missouri women's tennis record book with current Tiger Assistant Coach Urska Juric. Juric finished the 2002-03 season with a 30-8 record for the Tigers, while playing mostly at the No. 1 position.
As in the Memphis match, the Tigers and Billikens decided to play the No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches on the outdoor courts while the other singles matches were being played. At No. 5, Tiger sophomore Chrissy Svetlic earned her sixth straight victory, defeating Saint Louis sophomore Rachel MuCullagh in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. The streak ties Tiger Amanda Pratzel's six match winning streak earlier in the season for Missouri's longest winning streak of the season. At No. 6, Tiger Charlotte Bellis won her third match of the season, defeating SLU's Jo Becker in two sets, 6-1, 6-2.
After the two wins, Tiger Head Coach Blake Starkey said the Tigers are improving and playing good tennis at this point of the season.
"I think we are playing pretty well right now. I think we have played a lot of tough matches and a lot of our players have grown as the season has gone on. It's late in the season, but we're playing pretty well right now."
The Tigers finished their home schedule with two wins on Sunday, and next weekend they will finish out the regular season with two matches in Texas. Missouri will face No. 17 Texas on Sat. April 22 at 2 p.m. and No. 38 Texas A&M on Sun. April 23 at 1 p.m.
There is one more chance to see the Tigers in Columbia. Parents are encouraged to bring their children to the Tigers' free youth clinic Tuesday, April 18 from 4:30 to 5:30 at the Green Tennis Center in Columbia.
Missouri 7 Saint Louis 0 Sunday, April 16, 2006 Green Tennis Center Columbia, Mo.
Singles 1. Yelena Olshanskaya (MU) def. Amanda Hellberg (SLU) 6-4, 6-2 2. Lubica Nadasska (MU) def. Katerina Lozanova (SLU) 7-5, 6-3 3. Erika Josbena (MU) def. Ana Renda (SLU) 6-3, 6-1 4. Amanda Pratzel (MU) def. Tara Grant (SLU) 6-0, 6-0 5. Chrissy Svetlic (MU) def. Rachel McCullagh (SLU) 6-3, 6-1 6. Charlotte Bellis (MU) def. Jo Becker (SLU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles 1. Olshanskaya/Svetlic(MU) def Lozanova/Grant(SLU) 8-6 2. Hellberg/ Renda (SLU) def. Pratzel/Josbena (MU) 8-5 3. Nadasska/Bellis (MU) def. McCullagh/Caitlin Bokulic (SLU) 8-4
Missouri 6 Memphis 1 Sunday, April 16, 2006 Green Tennis Center Columbia, Mo.
Singles 1. Lubica Nadasska (MU) def. Brooke Cowie (MEM) 6-4, 6-3 2. Erika Josbena (MU) def. Andrea Feichtinger (MEM) 6-1, 6-4 3. Amanda Pratzel (MU) def. Ekin Zafir (MEM) 6-1, 6-1 4. Chrissy Svetlic (MU) def. Alex Tjioe (MEM) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) 5. Christina Wieser (MEM) def. Stephanie Johns (MU) 6-4, 6-2 6. Charlotte Bellis (MU) def. Flavia Russo (MEM) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles 1. Olshanskaya/Svetlic (MU) def. Cowie/Tjioe (MEM) 8-5 2. Pratzel/Josbena (MU) def. Feichtinger/Wieser (MEM) 8-1 3. Nadasska/Bellis (MU) def. Zafir/Russo (MEM) 8-0
Players Mentioned
