As the Kansas tennis team looks at the upcoming season, it has one main goal in mind: defeating the Missouri Tigers.

The Tigers defeated the Jayhawks in the first round of the Big 12 Championships last season.

“It’s important for this school to beat Missouri in everything,” Kuni Dorn, the only senior on the team this year, said. “We want to beat them all the time.”

Unfortunately for Dorn, Kansas has not won against Missouri since before her arrival three years ago.

A victory hasn’t come to the Jayhawks since April of 2006, when they won 6-1. After that season, Missouri won all of the next four meetings, including in March 2008, when Kansas was ranked No. 55 nationally and Missouri pulled off an upset of Kansas, continuing its winning streak.

“One time we were really close,” Dorn said. “We lost like 4-3. I was really upset about it.”

Results against Missouri haven’t turned out well for seventh-year coach Amy Hall-Holt either. Since becoming head coach in the fall of 2003, her team has compiled a 1-6 record against the Tigers in duel matches.

Last spring, Missouri racked up scores of 4-3 and 4-1 against Kansas, the latter of which ended Kansas’ season.

Although both players and coaches can appreciate the drive and determination of the rivalry, the Border Showdown itself may have had a part in Kansas’ loss.

Dorn said the reputation of the Border Showdown put extra pressure on the players to perform well.

“We got over-focused and got so stressed that we wouldn’t play well,” Dorn said.

Hall-Holt said she tried to use the intensity of the rivalry as team motivation.

“It’s definitely a huge rivalry with us just as it is in every other sport,” Hall-Holt said. “We try to get pumped up and win at all costs.”

Sophomore Alessandra Dzuba said the passion during matches against the Tigers was extremely high.

“The want to win is much greater than in other matches,” Dzuba said. “Both teams get pretty loud.”

The environment isn’t exactly hostile, she said, but the players know what is at stake and do everything they can to give themselves an advantage.

After last year’s early exit from the conference tournament, however, Dzuba was discouraged.

“We were so close last year and we were really disappointed in ourselves,” she said.

For the 2010 season, the Jayhawks are bringing optimistic attitudes with them to the table.

“Everyone has been playing really well,” Dzuba said. “This year is looking really good for us.”

The year will need to continue to go well through the offseason if Kansas wants to have a legitimate shot at defeating Missouri because the two teams will not face off again until April 2010. The Tigers will play host to the match in Columbia, Mo., taking home-court advantage this time around.

­— Edited by Abbey Strusz