Softball team captures Big 12 opener

The Missouri softball team opened Big 12 Conference play with a 7-4 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. The win improves the Tigers’ record to 23-17. Junior Micaela Minner and senior Kathy Masterson both hit fourth-inning home runs to jump-start the Tigers’ offense. Junior Jen Bruck gave up no hits in 6 2/3 innings, helping the Tigers hold on to a 5-0 advantage heading into the bottom of the sixth. The Tigers will continue Big 12 play against Texas Tech at noon today.

MU GYMNASTICS: The No. 18 Tigers took second place at their quad meet on Friday in Fayetteville, Ark. Their 195.725 fell just short of host Arkansas’s 196.400. Missouri State earned third with a 192.975, and Texas had a 192.00. Missouri sophomore Adrianne Perry won the all-around title with a 39.450 and won the beam with a 9.925, beating her previous career-high. Senior Whitney Crater took first in the vault with a 9.900. The Tigers will host the Big 12 Championships at 7 p.m. Saturday.

MU TENNIS: The Tigers lost 5-2 to Syracuse on Saturday in New York to drop to 5-8 after their fifth straight loss. Freshmen Katelyn McKenzie and Kaitlin Dunham won their singles matches, giving the Tigers their only two points of the afternoon.

MU VOLLEYBALL: USA Volleyball selected junior Tatum Ailes to its 20-person A2-training team this summer. Ailes provided the Tigers with solid serving and back-row support, helping the team reach its seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006. Ailes is the school’s all-time leader in digs and digs per game and was named the 2005 Big 12 Libero of the Year.