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No. 3 Baylor (0-0) vs. Houston (0-0) Jan. 21, 2011 | 3:30 p.m. CST| Waco, Texas | Baylor Tennis Center (1,600)

WACO, Texas - Baylor's third-ranked women's tennis team will open the 2011 dual-match season as they host the University of Houston in a non-conference matchup at 3:30 p.m. on Friday at the Baylor Tennis Center.

The Lady Bears are 8-11 all-time against Houston, but have won eight of the last nine meetings. While having won the last four matchups between the schools, Baylor hasn't surrendered a point in either of the last two meetings. BU last faced UH on March 9, 2005, winning 4-0.

Individually, the Lady Bears will begin the season with three players ranked in the ITA's top 125. Junior transfer Sona Novakova cracked the top 20, posting an 11-2 fall record in singles to earn a No. 19 ranking. Last season's wins leader Nina Secerbegovic will begin the season ranked 40th, while Karolina Filipiak was 12-4 in the fall and is ranked No. 122.

The addition of transfers Novakova and Diana Nakic, along with the addition of freshmen Cristina Danaila and Abby Stainback will help fill the gaps for a shot at another Big 12 title and NCAA Championship berth. Veteran all-Big 12 performers Taylor Ormond and Jelena Stanivuk, along with Filipiak also return for Baylor.

In the fall tournament season, the Lady Bears received title-winning performances from Novakova and Filipiak, and strong tournament play from Secerbegovic and Nakic. Amidst a seven-match winning streak, Novakova dropped just three sets on her way to the USTA/ITA Texas Regional title and a berth in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships. Meanwhile, Filipiak also took advantage of her home court and won nine consecutive matches, including six in a row to win the Baylor HEB Invitational title.

Novakova and Secerbegovic also formed Baylor's best doubles tandem, putting together a 6-1 fall tournament record and claiming the USTA/ITA Texas Regional title to earn a berth in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships

After a great 2010 season, featuring a 43-5 singles record, Secerbegovic was invited to the main draw of the ITA/Riviera All-American and took down two top-50 opponents before falling to then-second-ranked Hilary Barte of Stanford. Nakic, on the other hand, sat out most of the tournament season, but returned last week to reel off four consecutive victories and reach the final at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic. At the NCTC, the Georgia State transfer defeated eight-ranked Aeriel Ellis of Texas and 10th-ranked Danielle Lao of USC before falling to Barte in the tournament final.

The 2011 squad will enter the season with some major streaks to try to continue, including a 56-match win streak over Big 12 opponents, which features 42 in a row during the regular season. Baylor also won its sixth consecutive Big 12 regular season title and fifth consecutive Big 12 Championship title in 2010.