March 27, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Columbia, Mo. -
The University of Missouri women's tennis team (9-6/1-2 Big 12) continues conference play this weekend when the Tigers travel to Texas to face Texas Tech (8-6/1-2) Friday and No. 2 Baylor (17-2/3-0) Sunday. Texas Tech will have live scores available on TexasTech.com for Friday's match, which starts at 5 pm.
Spring Break
Mizzou did not play last weekend, giving the Tiger players a small spring break after their win over then-No. 55 Kansas in the Border Showdown match two weeks ago (March 16). Two days before the big win, Kansas State defeated Mizzou on the Green Tennis Center outdoor courts. Tiger junior Jessica Giuggioli led Mizzou that weekend, with two wins at No. 2 singles and two doubles wins.
Texas Tech
The Lady Raiders are 8-6 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12 after falling to the second-ranked Baylor Bears, 7-0, last Saturday (March 22). Samantha van der Drift leads the Lady Raiders at No. 1 singles. After losing her doubles match with partner Janet Durham, van der Drift sat out her singles match due to illness. Coming into this weekend, van der Drift is 5-7 at the No. 1 spot this spring. Kelsy Garland, who is 5-3 at No. 2 singles, jumped up a spot and lost to No. 44 Zuzana Zemenova in straight sets. Tech's lone conference win came against Iowa State, a 5-2, decision in Ames, Iowa (March 15). The Lady Raiders lead the all-time series between Mizzou and Texas Tech, 9-2. Tech has won the last three meetings.
Second-ranked Baylor
The Baylor Bears come into the weekend with an impressive 17-2 record and a No. 2 national ranking. Wednesday (March 26) No. 1 Northwestern defeated the Bears, 5-2, in Waco to hand BU their second loss of the season. Both losses have come to No. 1 teams, however, as then-No. 1 Stanford defeated Baylor, 4-2, in the ITA Indoor Championships earlier this season. BU hosts Colorado Friday. The Bears boast four ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams. Baylor's No. 1 singles player, No. 23 Zuzana Zemenova, won the NCAA Singles Championship in 2005, and has a 14-3 record this spring.
Tiger Notes
Mizzou Wins Second Straight Border Showdown Match
The Tigers won their annual match against rival Kansas two weeks ago (March 16) at a loud Green Tennis Center in Columbia. Mizzou won the doubles point to take an early lead in the match, thanks to wins at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots. The Tigers then won at the No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots to take the win. Giuggioli won an exciting three-set match against Elizaveta Avdeeva to take her second straight win at No. 2. Maureen Modesto and Kaitlyn Ritchie won at No. 5 and 6, respectively, to help Mizzou earn its first Big 12 win of the young conference season. The Tigers have now won five of the last six Border Showdown matches, dating back to the 2003 season.
Giuggioli Adds 2 More...Jumps to No. 1
Giuggioli, a junior transfer from the University of Kentucky, is 12-3 on the spring in singles play, which includes a 2-0 record at No. 1 and an 8-2 mark at No. 2. Last weekend, she picked up two wins at No. 2 in impressive fashion, leading Tiger Head Coach Blake Starkey to move her up to the No. 1 spot for this weekend's action. She will face two tough tests in Texas, van der Drift Friday and Zemenova Sunday.
Weber Tries to Get Back on Track
Freshman Mallory Weber is 7-7 in dual matches this spring, losing her last four matches at No. 1. She will play in the No. 2 spot for Mizzou this weekend, against Garland Friday and No. 26 Taylor Ormond Sunday. Her seven wins at the top spot more than doubles Mizzou's win total at No. 1 last season (three). She has earned the most No. 1 wins since the 2005 season, when Katka Sevcikova earned 14 victories at the top spot. Her seven wins ties Jessica Ferguson's total of seven her freshman season (2001), the last Mizzou freshman to win seven at No. 1.
Svetlic Slowing
After winning nine of her first 10 singles matches of the dual match season, Tiger senior Chrissy Svetlic has lost four straight, bringing her spring record to 9-5. She will face a tough test Sunday at No. 3 singles when she plays 11th-ranked Lenka Broosova, who took a three-set victory over Northwestern's No. 25 Samantha Murray Wednesday (March 26).
Modesto Jumps to No. 4
Modesto earned her eighth singles match this spring, and 20th overall in Mizzou's win over Kansas. She is only two wins from entering the single-season singles wins list. She will try for number 21 Friday at No. 4 against Texas Tech's Janet Durham, who is 7-3 at that spot this spring.
Ritchie Clinches Team Win, First Singles Victory in a Month
Ritchie won her match at No. 6 against Kansas, clinching the Border Showdown dual for the Tigers. She helped Mizzou end a five-match conference losing streak by stopping a five-match losing streak of her own. She is 8-6 on the dual season in singles play and 4-3 at No. 6, where she will be this weekend. She will play in the No. 3 doubles spot with Giuggioli, as she tries to improve on her team-high 20 doubles wins this season, including fall play. She is only one win away from tying Carolyn Kramer's mark of 21 for a share of 15th place on Mizzou's season-best doubles totals. Her current win percentage of .800 would place sixth on MU's season-high winning percentage list.
Dunham and Ayala Contribute in Doubles Play
Mizzou's No. 2 duo of Kaitlin Dunham and Sofia Ayala is 7-6 on the season after winning their match against Kansas State. They look to pick up more wins this weekend at No. 2 doubles.
Tigers Continue 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 53-22 in the dome at 2001 S. Providence Rd.
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 searching for more. With a 9-6 start to this season, the future looks good for the two Blakes.
Tiger Hometowns: The Heartland and Beyond
Speaking of different backgrounds, Mizzou's 2008 players come from both far and near. Starkey has recruited four players from the USTA Missouri Valley Section (Dunham, Ritchie, Svetlic and Weber) while adding one from Indiana (Modesto). Also joining the Tigers in 2008; Ayala, a native of Quito, Ecuador, who played for Alabama, and Giuggioli, a Piombino, Italy, native, who played with Kentucky last season.
UP NEXT: Mizzou Hosts Aggies and Longhorns
The Tigers will return to Columbia after this road trip to prepare for two more tough conference tests, as No. 33 Texas A&M and No. 17 Texas will invade the Green Tennis Center next weekend. Friday (April 4) the Tigers and Aggies will tangle at 1 pm and Saturday (April 5) Mizzou and UT will face off at 11 am. Admission to both matches is free to the public.