April 18, 2007
Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's tennis team (8-10, 3-7 Big 12) hosts No. 34 Wichita State Thursday at 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon's match is free and open to the public.
Nice Weather
With temperatures forecasted to climb to the mid-60's Thursday, the outdoor tennis match should be a great excuse to enjoy the weather and catch one of Mizzou's last home matches before they head to Kansas City for the Big 12 Championships. The Tigers have one more home match of the season, as they host Texas on Saturday.
Tigers Earn Third Conference Win
Mizzou earned its third Big 12 win of the year Saturday, and if the season ended today, they would have the eighth seed in the Big 12 Championships. Mizzou has already beaten then-No. 65 Kansas State and rival Kansas. Saturday, they took down Iowa State for the fifth straight time.
Mizzou jumped out to a 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point, as Tiger seniors Erika Josbena and Amanda Pratzel earned their first conference win at the No. 1 spot this season. At No. 2, Chrissy Svetlic and Raquel Wagner played their first match of the season together, and won, 8-4. Four Tigers earned singles victories, Svetlic, Josbena, Wagner and Katelyn McKenzie.
Svetlic Steps up in No. 1 Spot
The Tiger junior earned her third conference victory of the season, and second conference win in a row Saturday. But more importantly, she won in her first match at the No. 1 spot as a Tiger. The singles win was her 19th of the year, which leads the team. She also has 16 doubles wins this year, second only to Pratzel's 17.
Speaking of Doubles...
Josbena's doubles win Saturday was the 60th of her career, cementing her spot in the No. 6 slot on Mizzou's all-time doubles wins list. Josbena and Pratzel are 16-17 this season, playing primarily at the No. 2 spot for the Tigers.
Match Time
With the win this over the Cyclones the Tigers matched last year's total of six wins at home. Mizzou has two more chances to better that record during this week's matches against Wichita State and Texas.
Wichita State
The 34th-ranked Wichita State Shockers have a perfect 6-0 record in the Missouri Valley Conference, they boast an impressive 20-2 overall record and are 3-0 this season against Big 12 opponents. Earlier in the year, the Shockers defeated then-No. 46 Nebraska, then-No. 54 Kansas State and then-No. 52 Oklahoma State.
Feels Like the First Time
Wichita State started the season un-ranked, but quickly jumped into the top-75 after a win against then-No. 46 Nebraska in their second match of the season. The No. 62 ranking the Shockers earned marked the first time in program history the team was ranked in the top-75. WSU continued to climb up the polls all season, reaching as high as 16th in the March 13th ITA poll.
Shockers
WSU's top singles player, senior Madina Rakhim, is ranked 67th in the nation with an almost-perfect spring record of 21-1. Perhaps her biggest win of the year came against Notre Dame's top player, Catrina Thompson. She upset then-No. 19 Thompson in two sets March 30 in Wichita. She has also beaten Big 12 players Iryna Tkachenko of Oklahoma State and Viviana Yrureta of Kansas State.
Florentina Hanisch has a 14-6 singles record at No. 2 this spring for the Shockers. She is 2-2 against Big 12 players this year, defeating Diana Kuhl of Nebraska and Tamar Kvaratskhelia of Kansas State, while falling to OSU's Yawna Allen and Nebraska's Imke Reimers.
Series
The Tigers are 3-3 against WSU in the six matches they have played against each other. Mizzou defeated the Shockers, 4-3, in Wichita last April.
One More Match
After Thursday's match against Wichita State, the Tigers will have a quick turnaround before they host No. 41 Texas in their last match of the year. The contest will begin at noon, and the public is welcomed