April 13, 2007

Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's tennis team (7-10, 2-7 Big 12) will face off against Iowa State (5-9, 0-8 Big 12) Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Green Tennis Center in Columbia. The Cyclones are winless thus far in conference play and will face a hungry Tiger team that is fresh off an exciting win over archrival Kansas.

Live Scoring

Please visit the women's tennis page at Mutigers.com for live updates from Saturday's match, as well as a complete recap following the completion of the match.

Free Lunch

The first 70 fans in the door Saturday will receive free Barbecue from Bandanas after the doubles matches are completed. Tiger Head Coach Blake Starkey sees this as an opportunity to thank Mizzou's loyal fans.

"I think it will make for a fun weekend. We've had some really good fans all year and we wanted to do something a little bit different."

Falling Back

This weekend's match will mark the second time Mizzou and Iowa State players have met this year. Mizzou players squared off against the Cyclones in exhibition play in Columbia during the Mizzou Mock Duals this past fall. The Tigers fared well in the match, taking five of seven singles matches and two of the three doubles matches from their neighbors to the north.

Big 12 Bunched Up

The Tigers are currently one of four teams in the Big 12 with two conference wins. They look to keep pace and even gain a little ground this weekend against Iowa State, a team they have dominated in recent years. The Tigers are also just two conference wins shy of Oklahoma, who sits in the upper half of the conference in sixth place, and one behind the Cornhuskers of Nebraska.

Big 12 Women's Tennis Standings

Baylor 8-1 16-6

Texas 6-1 9-8

Texas A&M 5-1 15-4

Oklahoma State 7-2 15-5

Colorado 5-2 12-6

Oklahoma 4-5 7-11

Kansas State 3-4 5-11

Nebraska 3-5 10-6

Texas Tech 2-5 9-8

Kansas 2-6 4-13

Missouri 2-7 7-10

Iowa State 0-8 5-9

Through April 12, 2007

April 14

Mizzou will face Iowa State on April 14 for the second consecutive year. The Tigers proved too much for the Cyclones this past year, edging them 4-3 in Ames.

Match Time

With a win this weekend against the Cyclones the Tigers will match last year's total of six wins at home. The team would then have two more chances to better that record during next week's matches against Wichita State and Texas.

Wagner Continues Winning Ways

After her win last week over Kansas' Stephanie Smith, Tiger freshman Raquel Wagner has clawed her way to number four on the regular season conference wins list at the No. 6 spot. Wagner is now 4-5 in Big 12 play and will look to even her record this weekend against the Cyclones.

Svetlic at No. 2

Chrissy Svetlic looks to pick up another win at No. 2 this weekend, which would bring her record up to 2-3 in that spot. In last week's No. 2 match-up, Svetlic came back from a set down against the Jayhawks' Kunigunda Dorn to win, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Iowa State's Top Two

Playing in the top spot for Iowa State this weekend will likely be Jill Palen, who will have lost seven straight matches when she steps on the court Saturday. Columbia's Kara Hickey is likely to play at No. 2. Hickey has won three of her last five, and is coming off a win last Saturday against Oklahoma State's Yawna Allen 6-2, 6-3.

Suffering Cyclones

The Cyclones come into Columbia having lost five straight and eight of their past ten matches. What's more, the team has not been able to nab more than two points in any of these losses. Iowa State's last win came against non-conference UNC-Wilmington on March 13.

Series History

Iowa State holds a 15-18 series edge over Mizzou. However, the Tigers have had the Cyclones' number as of late. Mizzou has won five of the past six matches, including four straight over their northern counterparts.

Next Week

The Tigers will close out the regular season with a two-match homestand in Columbia next week. Mizzou will play host to the 31st-ranked Wichita State Shockers Thursday, April 19 at 3 p.m. at the Green Tennis Center. Two days later (April 21) the Tigers will try to end the regular season on a high note against Big 12 perennial power, 39th-ranked Texas.