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Tennis Hosts Mizzou Saturday in Big 12 Play

by CUBuffs.com
Apr 1, 2010

BOULDER - The University of Colorado women's tennis team looks to break a five-match losing streak, Saturday, April 3 when they face off against the Missouri Tigers at the Millennium Hotel Harvest House bubble due to the windy conditions Saturday morning.

Play begins at 10 a.m.

The Buffaloes (7-8, 0-4 Big 12) winners of six of nine matches through the first two months of the spring season (January & February) have struggled through March falling in five of their last six matches with four against nationally ranked opponents.

Of their 15 matches played, 10 have been played either on the road or on neutral courts. Saturday's match will be the first home match in Boulder since March 6.

Adding to the unlucky bounce of the ball, the Buffaloes will be without senior Camila Belassi for the rest of the season after suffering an ACL tear in her right knee during practice. A consistent mainstay in the lineup since her freshman year, Belassi ends her outstanding career with 68 singles (21st at CU) and 61 doubles wins (seventh at CU).

Belassi ended her career winning her last seven singles matches in a row, her longest career winning streak. She also won 19 times when playing three sets and rallied to win 10 of them when dropping the opening set.

Missouri enters the match with a 5-10 overall record and a 0-4 mark in conference play. The Buffaloes lead the all-time series, 24-2 dating back to 1981 and are 12-0 at home against the Tigers. Mizzou won 4-3 decisions in Columbia in 2003 and 2005. CU will look for their fifth straight win over the Tigers.

COLORADO MATCH NOTES

  • Today's match is the first of three straight home matches, a school-first since the 2003 spring season when CU played three consecutive April matches against conference opponents.
  • The five-match losing streak is the longest since 2005 when CU lost five-straight road matches. The last time the Buffs lost six in a row was 1990.
  • Melisa Esposito and Monica Milewski each have won nine spring singles matches. Cami Belassi had won eight, all at No. 3.
  • Milewski stands one win from the 20-win plateau, a feat she has accomplished once before (2006-07, 25 wins). She has won seven of eight singles matches and eight of her last 10.
  • In doubles, Belassi/Esposito (No. 57 nationally) had won 13 matches with seven of them at No. 1. Milewski and Ania Anuszkiewicz currently have 12 triumphs, seven at No. 3.
  • With two more wins, Monica Milewski (159) will tie Franziska Jendrian for the most wins ever by a women's tennis player (161 victories). Melisa Esposito is No. 4 on the list with 150.
  • With one more victory, Monica Milewski will tie Franziska Jendrian for the most doubles wins in school history (76). Melisa Esposito stands in third with 73.
  • On the career singles wins list, Milewski (84) and Esposito (77) are seventh and ninth, respectively on the school's all-time victory list.

MISSOURI MATCH NOTES

The Tigers are 0-6 on the road this season.

Last year against CU: The Buffs secured the doubles point with wins at the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 slots to escape Columbia with a 4-3 win. Kaitlyn Ritchie and Sofia Ayala won at the No. 5 and No. 6 slots for Missouri.

The Tigers best finish in conference play was a No. 6 seed back in 2004 and reached the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tennis Championships.

Mizzou played its first outdoor tennis match of the season at Oklahoma State last Sunday.

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