By Rich Brown

rbrown@joplinglobe.com

When the women take the courts Saturday morning at the MIAA Tennis Tournament, there will be one team facing emotions other than those from winning or losing.

Missouri Southern will make its final appearance in the conference championships and, barring an outright league title, mark the conclusion of women’s tennis at the Joplin university. Southern officials recently made a budgetary decision to drop the program at the end of this season.

Coach Larry McGregor and his team will open play against the only conference team they have beaten this campaign, Missouri Western. The match will get under way at 8:30 a.m. at the Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City. All nine teams will play Saturday with the championship match at noon Sunday to conclude the tourney.

“That was a good win this season against Western and we are thinking positive about this match,” said McGregor, whose team also won a nonconference match against Evangel to wind up the regular season 2-13 overall and 1-7 in the MIAA.

The winner between eighth-seeded Southern and ninth-seeded Western will have to face top-seeded Washburn.

The remainder of the bracket is still up for grabs with seedings contingent upon the remainder of regular-season play this week.

Southwest Baptist returns as the defending champion, winning its first ever conference crown last April. The Bearcats advanced in the national playoffs before being defeated 5-0 by Lynn (Fla.).

A conference tournament highlight for Southern, which introduced women’s tennis to its athletic program in 1974, came in 2006 when the Lions reached the championship match only to be defeated 5-0 by Northwest Missouri.

Last year Southern defeated Fort Hays State and lost to Truman State in the tourney to close out its season with an 8-11 record.

Sophomore Katie Andersen, as she has all season, will be playing No. 1 for the Lions when they take on Western. Andersen compiled a 6-9 overall mark and 4-4 in MIAA play during the regular season.

She combines with sophomore Alex Lewis at No. 1 doubles.

McGregor said that Lions obviously want to get a win against Western but knowing the sport will be coming to an end at Southern will also be in their thoughts.

“The wins and losses are not what are significant here but the fact that we are coming out of this and not going on to next year,” he said. “It is not so much how well we do in the conference tournament but the fact that we being split up and will not be playing next year.