ORLANDO, Fla. — In a season full of unprecedented accomplishments, Griffon Tennis ventures further into the unknown with a Sweet 16 showdown vs. No. 1 seed Barry on Friday at the USTA Training Center.
KEEPING UP WITH THE GRIFFONS
For the first time this season, Missouri Western Tennis is available for live video streaming. Fans looking to watch can sign up for free by clicking on the tab above.
HOW HISTORY WAS MADE
The Griffons punched their ticket to the big dance for the third time in program history this year as the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Division II Central Regional, defeating No. 4 seed and 33rd-ranked Central Oklahoma 4-1 on May 1 in St. Joseph at Genesis Health Clubs in a match that kickstarted MWSU's mini-revenge tour. The Bronchos had beaten MWSU 5-2 in late March, as did Northwest Missouri State to wrap up the regular season in mid-April. This time around in the Griffs' second trip to Maryville, Missouri, MWSU took down No. 1 seed and 12th-ranked Northwest 4-2, eliminating the perennial favorite in the Central Region thanks to
Anais Peralta Criado's match-clinching win in a three-set thriller in No. 5 singles.
Last season's regional win over Harding was the Griffons' first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament. Making the regional for a program record second-straight season, MWSU's two wins in the playoffs mark another new team record.
GRIFFITAS VS. GOLIATH
Tabbed as the 16th seed and still ranked 35th in the nation, Missouri Western (15-6) takes on the No. 1 team in the nation, the 24-0 Barry Buccaneers tomorrow at 7 a.m. CST. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Griffs and the Bucs, and it will be MWSU's 12th match vs. a ranked opponent this season. So far in this 2022-23 campaign, Missouri Western is 7-4 vs. ranked opponents, setting a new program record for wins in a single season against top-75 teams in the
ITA Poll.
Based out of Miami, Florida, Barry has won the last five NCAA Championships, only having its 2019-20 run to the top stopped by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bucs beat fellow MIAA program Nebraska Kearney 4-0 on Feb. 24 in Kearney at the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center, as the Lopers are the only common opponent MWSU and Barry share this season.
Barry is undefeated since last losing on April 27, 2019, winning its last 86 games during the Bucs' five consecutive championship runs. This is Barry's 25th trip to the National Finals.
THE BEST VS. THE BEST
With a 13-5 record in Division II singles play,
Anya Chavez comes in ranked 35th in all of the nation.
Isabella MacGibbon is ranked 38th thanks to her 15-6 record in DII action. Five total Bucs are ranked in singles action: No. 1 Deniz Khazan (22-3); No. 16 Daniela Farfan (19-1); No. 19 Dinara Alloyarova (12-4); No. 39 Xiayo Wang (11-2); and No. 63 Clara Versier (14-2). This year, MWSU is currently 5-8 vs. nationally-ranked singles opponents.
The doubles duo of Khazan/Farfan are 16-3 and second in the nation. Farfan and Nathalia Gasparin are 5-3 together and ranked 50th in DII. The Griffons are 2-6 vs. ranked doubles teams this season.
