April 15, 2004

WACO, Texas - The Baylor women's tennis team, ranked No. 43 nationally, hosts two important Big 12 matches on Friday and Saturday when they take on Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at the Baylor Tennis Center. Friday's match with Oklahoma begins at 5 p.m., while Saturday afternoon's contest against Oklahoma State is set to begin at 2 p.m.

The Lady Bears, 10-9 on the season and 6-2 in Big 12 play, currently sit in third place in the league standings, just ahead of Oklahoma. Baylor, an extremely young team with three freshmen, four sophomores and a junior, has played an extremely tough schedule. Seven of Baylor's 19 matches were against teams ranked 20th or higher and all but three of its matches have been against ranked opponents. The Lady Bears are led this season by three freshmen and a junior. Freshmen Carolin Walter and Iva Mihaylova have both eclipsed the 20-win mark this season. Walter, ranked No. 41 nationally, is 22-9 on the year playing at No. 1 and Mihaylova is 21-10 playing mainly at the No. 6 position. Junior Daria Potapova and freshman Klara Zrustova each have 17 victories to their credit, Potapova is 17-10 while Zrustova is 17-9 this year.

The 18th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners enter the contest with a 15-3 overall record and are 4-2 in the Big 12. Senior Anda Perianu, ranked No. 5 nationally, leads the Sooners with a 14-1 singles record and is 6-0 in the Big 12 at No. 1 singles. Perianu has won 10 consecutive matches. Oklahoma's two league losses have come against the two teams Baylor lost to, Texas and Texas A&M.

Oklahoma State, currently ranked No. 69, comes to Waco with a 6-11 record overall and 1-6 in league play. The Cowgirls' lone league win came against Kansas State, 4-3.