Missouri State (3-3) vs. Southwest Baptist (1-2) | vs. Arkansas (5-2) | at Oklahoma (6-5)
Dates	Thursday, Feb. 23, 1 p.m. (SBU) | Saturday, Feb. 25, 2 p.m. (Arkansas), 5 p.m. (Oklahoma)
Location	Springfield, Mo. (SBU) | Norman, Okla. (Arkansas, Oklahoma)
Site	Cooper Tennis Complex (SBU) | The Headington Family Tennis Center (Arkansas, Oklahoma)
Watch	PlaySight (Arkansas, Oklahoma)
Live Stats	StatBroadcast (Arkansas) | StatBroadcast (Oklahoma)
Missouri State	Women's Tennis Home Page | Twitter | Instagram

Dual Details
The Missouri State women's tennis team (3-3) battles Southwest Baptist (1-2) Thursday at 1 p.m. The dual will take place at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, and admission is free. On Saturday, MSU heads to Norman, Okla., for a pair of same-day duals against Arkansas (5-2) at 2 p.m. and Oklahoma (6-5) at 5 p.m. The Arkansas and Oklahoma duals can be viewed on PlaySight.

Baseline Knowledge

• Missouri State secured its first dual victory under first-year head coach Ellie Burger on Friday, Feb. 3, against Drury, 4-3. On the following day, the Bears followed up the DU victory with a win against Eastern Illinois, 5-2. MSU's first victories of the season snapped a 21-dual losing streak dating back to 2021.
• The following weekend, MSU followed up its first victories of the season by splitting two home duals. Against Kansas City (Feb. 10), Juliette Robinson (No. 3) and Silva Avakian (No. 6) picked up wins in singles, however the Bears fell to the Roos, 4-2. Versus Central Arkansas (Feb 12), Missouri State found itself down 3-1. However, the home Bears rattled off three straight victories in flights four through six to secure the dual, 4-3. The duo of Sandra Lukacova and Robinson earned a victory in No. 3 doubles, while Robinson (No. 3), Lukacova (No. 4), Alyson Piskulic (No. 5) and Avakian (No. 6) all secured wins in singles. Robinson's performance in both duals resulted in her being named Missouri Valley Conference Singles Player of the Week, announced by the league on Feb.15.
• Last week against Oral Roberts (Feb. 17), MoState fell behind 4-0 after the doubles point and first three singles points all ended in the Golden Eagles' favor. However, the Bears showed fight and secured the remaining three matches to bring the score to 4-3. Mary Houston (No. 3), Lukacova (No. 4) and Piskulic (No. 5) all picked up wins in singles.
• Through six duals, Piskulic holds a team-best singles record of 5-1, maintaining a perfect 2-0 record in the No. 6 slot while going 3-1 in the No. 5 position. Avakian isn't far behind with a 3-1 ledger (all in No. 6 singles), and Lukacova holds an impressive 4-2 tally, going 2-2 in the No. 4 slot and 2-0 in the No. 5 position.
• Elsewhere in singles dual action, Robinson is an even 3-3 in the Nos. 2-4 positions, and Diana Cabrera holds the same record, with all of her matches occurring at the No.1 slot.
• In doubles, the pair of Cabrera and Piskulic hold a 3-2 ledger in doubles, with all matches occurring at the No. 2 position. Meanwhile, the tandem of Robinson and Lukacova are 3-3 in doubles, all at the No. 3 slot.
• In the fall, Cabrera finished second in No. 1 singles at the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships. The doubles pair of Avakian/Houston grabbed fourth in No. 3 doubles, and Avakian also finished fifth in No. 6 singles.
• Overall, Missouri State players are 41-53 in singles matches and 16-24 in doubles contests.
• The Bears were picked eighth out of nine teams in the 2023 MVC Preseason Poll, receiving 22 points.  

 
Coach Ellie Burger

• Before becoming head coach on June 1, Burger played tennis for the Bears from 2017-21 and was a three-time All-MVC performer. She ranks third in program history for career singles winning percentage (.782) with a 43-18 career record.  
• Originally from Chesterfield, Mo., Burger captained the 2020-21 MoState tennis squad, leading the Bears to a 12-10 overall record and a runner-up finish in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. She was also a key part of the 2018 MVC Tournament championship squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament under coach Mallory Weber.  
• Individually, Burger won a conference title in 2019 at No. 3 singles, becoming just the 13^th Bear to win a singles flight in the Missouri Valley. She also earned All-MVC honors in 2018, 2019 and 2021, and was named as the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Female Student-Athlete of the Year by her fellow MSU student-athletes in 2020-21.

  
2023 MVC Preseason Poll
1. Belmont (6)
2. Illinois State
3. UIC (3)
4. Drake
5. Murray State
6. Valparaiso
7. Bradley
8. Missouri State
9. UNI
 
Series History (based on information available)

• Southwest Baptist: MSU leads the all-time series, 1-0. Last meeting: MSU 5, SBU 2 (March 27, 2021, in Springfield, Mo.)
• Arkansas: Arkansas leads the all-time series, 22-0. Last meeting: Arkansas 4, MSU 0 (Feb. 15, 2020, in Fayetteville, Ark.)
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 2-1.

 
Looking Ahead
After three duals this week, Missouri State heads to Cape Girardeau, Mo., for a two-day road dual against SEMO, March 3-4 both at 3 p.m.