March 8, 2003

WACO, Texas - Baylor's women's tennis team dealt the Missouri Tigers their second loss of the season when the Bears posted a 5-2 victory over the Tigers on Saturday at the Baylor Tennis Center. The win raises Baylor's record to 4-6 overall and 3-0 in league play while Missouri falls to 8-2 and 3-1.

The Bears got on the scoreboard first by winning the doubles point. Baylor's Anna Moncolova and Vida Mulec, playing at No. 2, won six straight games to close out their match and win by a score of 8-2. Teamed for just the third time this season, Baylor's Alison Bradley and Daria Potapova took on Missouri's Urska Juric and Katka Sevcikova, ranked fourth nationally, at the top doubles position. The Tiger duo posted an 8-3 win over the Bears. Playing at No. 3, Stephanie Balzert and Izabela Mijic raised their season record to 2-0 with an 8-0 blanking of Kelly Crull and Brittney Holiday.

Freshman Izabela Mijic clinched the match for Baylor at No. 5 singles after Anna Moncolova and Daria Potapova each won their singles matches in straight sets at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. Perhaps the most dramatic match of the day was at the top singles spot. Baylor's Vida Mulec lost the first set to No. 27 Urska Juric 6-4. The senior then won the second set 7-5 and then posted the victory in a super tiebreaker 10-5. In the tiebreaker, the two dueled back and forth and were tied 4-4 when Mulec closed out the match by winning six of the next seven points to claim the victory. Baylor's Alison Bradley, stepping into the lineup for the ailing Barbora Blahutiakova, pushed her match to three sets. Bradley won the first set 6-4 before Missouri's Kristina Olshnaskaya rallied to win the last two sets 6-2, 6-4. Katka Sevcikova was Missouri's other winner, posting a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Stephanie Balzert.

"I have a lot of respect for Missouri's team, they are well-coached. We looked upon this match as a huge opportunity for us. If we beat them, we know we're doing things right, " said Baylor head coach Joey Scrivano. "Vida's win was huge, not only for our team but for Vida as well. This gives us a lot of confidence going into the Pepperdine match."

Baylor will now travel to southern California where they will take on 48th-ranked Pepperdine on Thurs., March 13. Match time is set for 3:30 p.m. (CST). Baylor assistant coach Cintia Tortorella is a Pepperdine alum and was a three-year standout for the Waves.

#42 Baylor 5, #43 Missouri 2

Doubles
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
1. #4 Urska Juric/Katka Sevcikova, MU def. Alison Bradley/Daria Potapova, BU 8-3
2. Anna Moncolova/Vida Mulec, BU def. Mary Barry/Hana Kraftova, MU 8-2
3. Stephanie Balzert/Izabela Mijic, BU def. Kelly Crull/Brittney Holiday, MU 8-0

Singles
Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 5, 1, 6
1. Vida Mulec, BU def. #27 Urska Juric, MU 4-6, 7-5 (10-5)
2. Katka Sevcikova, MU def. Stephanie Balzert, BU 6-2, 6-1
3. Anna Moncolova , BU def. Hana Kraftova, MU 6-2, 6-1
4. Daria Potapova, BU def. Mary Barry, MU 6-1, 6-3
5. Izabela Mijic, BU def. Lucie Ruskova, MU 6-2, 6-4
6. Kristina Olshanskaya, MU def. Alison Bradley, BU 4-6, 6-2, 6-4

Records:
#42 Baylor - 4-6, 3-0 Big 12
#43 Missouri - 8-2, 3-1 Big 12