BRACKET

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Missouri Western tennis looks to add to their turnaround season at the MIAA Tournament. The Griffons earned the seventh seed and are scheduled to face-off against the second seed Southwest Baptist on Friday, April 24 at 9 a.m. The MIAA tournament will take place April 24-26 from the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Mo.

"Our ultimate goal coming into this season was to make the conference tournament so coming in as the seventh seed we are very happy with that" said head coach Chris Canady

The Griffons improved their record by 10 wins and have won more games this season than the previous three years combined. Missouri Western has relied on consistent play in both doubles and singles matches this season from key players.

In singles matches, Sarah Giraldo has played all her matches in the No. 1 position and currently holds an 8-11 overall record in duals matches. Senior Ceara Boldridge has a record of 9-7 in singles matches, winning five matches in the No.5 position and four matches in the No. 6 position. Newcomer Yasmine El Ghazi has also been a consistent option in singles matches, tallying a record of 12-5 on the year. She has a 9-5 record in the No. 4 spot. Meara Smith has come on strong later in the year and is currently 9-1 in her last 10 matches, holding an overall record of 9-3.

MWSU has won 38 total doubles matches this season won 63 percent of their matches. Denise Chiao and Kayla Dysart own the best overall record at 7-3. Giraldo and El Ghazi are currently 9-6 overall this season in the No. 1 spot.

 "As a team everyone improved dramatically throughout the year and the girls really came together as a team, cheering and supporting each other at every match which is a big reason for the success we have had" said Canady.

Previewing Southwest Baptist
Southwest Baptist comes into the match with a record of 19-2 overall and 9-1 in conference play, earning them the second seed in the MIAA tournament. The Bearcats are currently ranked second in the region and sit 19^th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

"We have a lot of good opportunities at the bottom of our line-up to pull a match out against Southwest Baptist. At the top of their line-up they are always very strong so we need our No.4, No. 5, No. 6 singles and No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to have a strong effort." said Canady

Previous Match vs. #19 Southwest Baptist (April 11, 2015)

Singles competition
1. Varga,Fanni (SBU) def. Giraldo,Sarah (MWSU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Zehnder,Maria Josie (SBU) def. Aguilera,Sofia (MWSU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Dysart,Kayla (MWSU) def. Tuemmers,Lani (SBU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
4. El Ghazi,Yasmine (MWSU) def. Federer,Beatrix (SBU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Jovanovic,Zorana (SBU) def. Boldridge,Ceara (MWSU) 0-6, 6-1, 6-4
6. Smith,Meara (MWSU) def. No player (SBU), by default

Doubles competition
1. Tuemmers,Lani/Zehnder,Maria Josie (SBU) def. Giraldo,Sarah/El Ghazi,Yasmine (MWSU) 8-5
2. Jovanovic,Zorana/Varga,Fanni (SBU) def. Dysart,Kayla/Aguilera,Sofia (MWSU) 9-8 (7-4)
3. No player/No player (MWSU) def. No player/No player (SBU), by default