April 23, 2008

College Station, Texas - The University of Missouri women's tennis team landed in College Station, Texas, Wednesday afternoon, as they prepare to play a first round match against No. 66 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championships. The Tigers and Cowgirls will take the first serve at 1:30 p.m. on the stadium courts at Texas A&M's George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.

Live Stats

Live results for all matches can be found at:

http://www.aggieathletics.com/specialsites/2008big12tennis/

In addition to the stats, fans can see photos from each match, hear selected audio files and find out more information about the tennis center.

Weather Will Be a Factor

The National Weather Service predicts a very nice, but windy day Thursday. The NWS says temperatures will rise to the mid-80's, with a south wind of 10-20 mph, with gusts to 25. This is nothing new for Mizzou, the wind was also blowing during the Cowgirl-Tiger match last Friday, and the team practiced in a stiff wind Wednesday afternoon in College Station.

First to Four

Thursday's match will be played as a tournament match, which means the first team to collect four points will automatically win the match. At that point, the officials will stop the remaining singles matches, and they will remained unfinished, not counting against the players' records.

If the Tigers Win...

-It would be their first in the Big 12 Championships since the 2005 season, when they beat the Cowgirls, 4-3, before falling to Baylor.

-The Tigers would play No. 31 Texas A&M, the tournament's third seed, at 6 p.m. Friday.

-Mizzou would beat the Cowgirls for only the fifth time in the program's history. OSU currently has a 30-4 record against the Tigers.

Giuggioli Hopes Third Time is a Charm

Tiger junior transfer Jessica Giuggioli will play Oklahoma State senior transfer Yawna Allen for the third time Thursday. Allen beat Giuggioli twice this year. In the fall, when Giuggioli still played for the University of Kentucky, Allen beat her, 6-3, 6-3, at the Baylor Invitational. Last Friday (April 18) Allen defeated Giuggioli again, 6-4, 6-4, in Stillwater, Okla. The two will meet in the No. 2 singles spot in Thursday's first round match between the Cowgirls and Tigers.

Correction From Last Saturday

The results of Mizzou's loss to Oklahoma last Saturday (April 19) said Kaitlin Dunham beat Tara Eckel, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, at No. 6 singles. Dunham was supposed to play at the No. 6 spot, but she was scratched, and Tiger junior Sofia Ayala played in the spot. That win makes Ayala 6-2 in the conference in the No. 6 position, good enough for second place at that spot among the league's players.

Post-Match Recap

Please be sure to visit MUTigers.com after Mizzou's first round match Thursday for a complete recap of the contest.