Missouri State (6-13, 1-4 MVC) vs. Murray State (8-8, 2-2 MVC)
Date	Thursday, April 6, 12 p.m.
Location	Springfield, Mo.
Site	Cooper Tennis Complex
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
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Dual Details
The Missouri State women's tennis team (6-13, 1-4 MVC) hosts Murray State (8-8, 2-2 MVC) Thursday at 12 p.m. to conclude its spring home slate. The match will take place at Cooper Tennis Complex, and admission is free.

Baseline Knowledge

• Overall, Sandra Lukacova holds the best record in singles with a ledger of 13-9, going 7-7 in duals and an impressive 6-2 in tournament play. Additionally, the sophomore has won three-of her last four completed matches.
• Elsewhere in singles action, Silva Avakian carries an 11-15 mark on the season, going 5-10 in duals and 6-5 in tournaments, while Diana Cabrera maintains a 10-17 ledger, totaling 5-11 in duals and 5-6 in tournaments.
• In doubles, the pair of Lukacova and Juliette Robinson have the best winning percentage on MSU, holding an overall record record of 9-9. The tandem has been consistent throughout the season, carrying a ledger of 6-6 in duals and 3-3 in tournaments. Meanwhile, the duo of Cabrera and Alyson Piskulic aren't far behind and hold a total record of 11-14. In duals, the pair is 7-8 after recording a 4-6 mark in tournaments.
• Last weekend's duals versus Saint Louis, Drake and Northern Iowa saw a new doubles pair experience success. Since making their debut together on March 29 against SLU, Mary Houston and Robinson hold a 2-1 record as a doubles duo, including maintaining a perfect 2-0 ledger in The Valley.
• Lukacova maintains the best record in doubles individually, carrying a 10-9 overall mark and going 7-6 in duals and 3-3 in tournaments. In MVC doubles action, Robinson holds a record of 3-2, while Houston maintains a 2-2 mark.
• 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. 
• On the season, Missouri State players are 56-105 in singles matches and 27-44 in doubles contests. In duals, MSU holds a 35-67 singles record and a 18-29 ledger in doubles. In The Valley, MoState maintains a 7-20 mark in singles and a 4-10 record in doubles.

Previous Duals to Know

• Picking up first-year head coach Ellie Burger's first MVC win and the Bears' first conference victory of the season, Missouri State took down UNI last Sunday on the road, 4-3. Houston and Robinson stood out for MSU, winning as a doubles pair in flight two and also both individually winning in singles, as Houston picked up a win in the No. 3 slot, and Robinson earned a victory in the No. 4 position.
• Last Saturday, the Bears fell to Drake, 7-0, in their first road conference challenge of the season.
• On March 25, Missouri State took on MVC preseason-favorite Belmont and came up short, 4-0. First-time doubles partners, Houston and Robinson, accounted for MSU's lone victory after a 6-4 win in flight two. The Bears were up a set in two-out-of-three remaining singles matches when the dual was called to an end.
• MoState opened its MVC slate on March 18-19. For their first conference dual, the Bears dropped a hard-fought match to Bradley, 4-3. During the contest, MSU won the first four matches to give it an early 3-0 advantage over the Braves. However, Bradley rattled off four-straight singles victories to secure the dual, 4-3. The following day versus Illinois State, the Redbirds defeated the Bears, 6-1. Sandra Lukacova picked up the Bears' only win in No. 5 singles.
• March 10 saw MSU square off against Missouri Western State. The Bears earned six wins en route to a 5-1 victory. Robinson, Lukacova, and Diana Cabrera all won both their singles and doubles matches to give the Bears their first win in four matches. Due to their performance in this match as well as against Cowley College (March 11), Cabrera and Alyson Piskulic were awarded MVC Doubles Team of the Week, the conference announced on March 15.
• During a three-dual span between Feb. 23-25, the Bears began the stretch with a victory against Southwest Baptist, 4-3, to close out its six-dual home stretch. MoState found itself with its back against the wall, down 3-2 against the Bearcats. The Bears came roaring back, winning the Nos. 4-5 singles matches to secure the dual. Piskulic (No. 5) took down SBU's Polina Paunova, 6-4, 6-2, and Lukacova (No. 4) defeated SBU's Lola Cincunegui, 6-3, 6-4, to complete the comeback. Two days following, Missouri State battled Arkansas and No. 18 Oklahoma. The Bears fell short in both duals against the Power Five representatives. Over the span of both duals, Missouri State players faced four opponents ranked inside the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings top 100, including three doubles teams and one singles player. 
• Against Oral Roberts on 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. Houston (No. 3), Lukacova (No. 4) and Piskulic (No. 5) all picked up wins in singles.
• On Feb. 10 and Feb. 12, MSU followed up its first victories of the season by splitting two home duals. Against Kansas City (Feb. 10), Robinson (No. 3) and 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 Lukacova and Robinson earned a victory in No. 3 doubles, while Robinson (No. 3), Lukacova (No. 4), Piskulic (No. 5) and Avakian (No. 6) all secured wins in singles. Robinson's performance in both duals resulted in her being named MVC Singles Player of the Week, the league announced on Feb.15.
• Missouri State secured its first dual victory under 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. 

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 MVC 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 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.

Series History (based on information available)
Murray State leads the all-time series, 3-1. Last meeting: MUR 5, MSU 2 (Feb. 7, 2020, in Springfield)

Looking Ahead
After the last home match, Missouri State finishes out the regular season with road matches next weekend against Valparaiso (Saturday, April 15, at 1 p.m. in Valparaiso, Ind.) and UIC (Sunday, April 16, at 9 a.m. in Chicago, Ill.). The MVC Team Championships are slated for April 21-23 in Normal, Ill.