Jan. 31, 2008
Columbia, Mo. -
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The University of Missouri women's tennis team (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) hosts the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos (0-0, 0-0 Summit League) Friday at 3 pm and the Syracuse Orange (2-0, 2-0 BIG EAST) Sunday at noon, as the seven-match homestand continues at the Green Tennis Center. The Tigers will look to continue their winning ways this weekend, after a victory over Saint Louis in their home opener Wednesday.
Last Time Out:
Mizzou defeated Saint Louis, 6-1, Wednesday in the Tigers' home opener. MU won the doubles point, and took every singles match but one to earn their first win of the season. Several Tigers stepped up big on the night, including freshman Mallory Weber, who teamed up with partner Chrissy Svetlic to take the No. 1 doubles match, clinching the doubles point, and later won the No. 1 singles match, which clinched the victory for the Tigers.
Quick Look at the Opponents
The Kangaroos will hop into their spring season Friday inside the Green Tennis Center. UMKC was picked to finish ninth out of nine Summit League teams in the conference's preseason poll. The Roos have not won a dual match since the 2003 season. Syracuse is 2-0 on the young season, after defeating Cincinnati and Georgetown. In their 6-1 victory over Cincinnati, Jacquelynn Tang defeated former Tiger Val Dandik, 6-1, 6-4, in the No. 5 singles match. "New York's College Team" plays Kansas State Saturday in Manhattan, Kan.
History on Mizzou's Side
The Tigers have defeated the Kangaroos in each of the 14 matches the two schools have played. Friday's meeting will be the first time the programs have played each other since the late 90's, however. Moving ahead to Sunday, the Tigers still hold a 2-1 series lead against Syracuse despite losing to the Orange last season.
Double Trouble
Missouri's top doubles duo of Svetlic and Weber earned their first victory of the spring Wednesday against Saint Louis. The 43rd-ranked duo went 5-1 in the fall season, including championship wins in the Maryland and Mizzou tournaments. Svetlic, a senior from Kansas City, Mo., earned 17 doubles victories during the 2006-07 season. Her partner already proves she belongs at the top. In addition to her 6-2 record with Svetlic, Weber won four additional matches with fellow newcomer Kaitlyn Ritchie at the beginning of the season.
Big Homestand
The Tigers are in the midst of a seven-match homestand at the Green Tennis Center. Mizzou will host UMKC and Syracuse this weekend, Xavier and Chicago State Feb. 9 and Southeast Missouri and Illinois-Chicago Feb. 16. After these seven matches, the Tigers will only have four remaining home matches; Kansas State (Mar. 14), Kansas (Mar. 16), Texas A&M (April 4) and Texas (April 5).
Tigers Begin Seventh Season at GTC
The Green Tennis Center has served as the home of Mizzou tennis since the spring of 2002, when Mizzou opened its doors with a 5-4 home record. The Tigers have continued that home success throughout the six seasons at the GTC, going 46-21 in that time. The center is named after the father of Jerry Green, who donated $500,000 for the construction of the facility. Green owns WHB 810 Radio in Kansas City. His father played tennis for Mizzou in the 1920's.
Close to the Leaderboard
Svetlic has earned 36 singles and 34 doubles victories as a Tiger after transferring from Northern Illinois University during her sophomore season. She is just two doubles wins away from tying former Tiger Yelena Olshanskaya for 15th place all-time.
Getting There
Tiger freshman Maureen Modesto leads the team with 13 singles victories in the 2007-08 season. She went 12-3 in the fall, and goes into this weekend with a 1-1 spring record. She is nine wins away from 15th place on the Mizzou leaderboard for wins in a season.
Coaching Staff: Two Blakes!
As Tiger Head Coach Blake Starkey enters his 11th season at the helm, he brings Assistant Coach Blake Edwards on board to lead Mizzou in 2008. Starkey, who went 106-120 in his first ten seasons, enters his second decade with one of his goals fulfilled already, he has a ranked doubles team. He would also like to see singles players, as well as the team as a whole, enter the rankings. Another one of his goals includes building a true team, and bringing individuals with different backgrounds closer together.
Tiger Hometowns: The Heartland and Beyond
Speaking of different backgrounds, Mizzou's 2008 players come from both far and near. Starkey has recruited five players from the USTA Missouri Valley Section (Dunham, Ritchie, Svetlic, Wagner and Weber) while adding one from Indiana (Modesto). Also joining the Tigers in 2008; Sofia Ayala, a native of Quito, Ecuador, who played for Alabama, and Jessica Giugioli, a Piombino, Italy, native, who played with Kentucky last season.