April 8, 2010
Columbia, MO - The University of Missouri women's tennis team will open their home conference season host Kansas on Friday, April 9 at 5 p.m., and Kansas State on Sunday, April 11 at 1 p.m. at the Green Tennis Center. The Tigers seek to improve on their record, and capture their first conference win of the season. Friday, April 9 will mark Missouri's second fan appreciation day of the season, in which the team will thank their fans by serving barbeque in-between the doubles and singles play.
Missouri (5-11, 0-5 Big 12) come off of a conference loss at No. 71 Colorado last weekend. Freshman Andrea Lewis carries a two-match win streak into the weekend at No. 6 singles, earning wins over Oklahoma State and Colorado, while junior Mallory Weber leads the way for the Tigers with a 3-2 conference record, most recently securing a 6-3, 6-0, win over Colorado's Abbie Probert.
Scouting Kansas (9-8, 1-4 Big 12): Missouri has defeated the Jayhawks in seven of the last eight meetings, with the most recent coming last spring in Lawrence, Kan., 5-2. Kansas lost to in-state rival Kansas State, 7-0, their last time out, and is currently 1-4 in Big 12, earning a conference win over Iowa State. Their No. 2 doubles duo of Kunigunda Dorn and Sara Lazrevic carry a 5-4 record into the weekend, winning their last two matches over Iowa State and Kansas State, respectively.
Scouting Kansas State (5-8, 2-3 Big 12): The Wildcats swept the Kansas Jayhawks in their last outing for the first time in program history. Boasting two home wins in conference, over Kansas and Iowa State, Kansas State has lost their last four matches on the road, and will face Colorado on the road Friday, April 9, before their arrival in Columbia. While Kansas State owns a 22-9 lead in the series with the Tigers, Missouri won the last match-up between the schools last spring in Manhattan, Kan., 4-3.
The Green Tennis Center's outdoor courts are offline, so all matches this weekend will be played indoors. Following this weekend's home matches, Missouri will hit the road for Texas. The Tigers will face Baylor on Friday, April 16 at 5 p.m., and Texas Tech on Sunday, April 18 at 1 p.m.