SMU Athletics

Kati Gyulai (Kà Tee U-la-ee) is entering her eighth season at SMU after being named head coach on Feb. 8, 2012. Gyulai arrived on the Hilltop after three-plus seasons as head coach at her alma mater, Wyoming. She is currently 175-144 after 12 seasons as a head coach, including an 89-70 mark at SMU.

Last year, Gyulai guided SMU to its fourth consecutive winning season with a 17-9 overall record and a runner-up finish at the American Athletic Conference Championship. In addition to the Mustangs’ best finish as a member of the AAC, SMU also ended the season ranked 54th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the first year-end ranking since 2013. Karina Traxler unanimously earned All-AAC honors, the third consecutive year that the Mustangs have been represented on the all-conference team. She was also named AAC Player of the Week on April 10. Sarai Monarrez Yesaki and Ana Perez-Lopez reached the doubles semifinals at the ITA Regional Championships. Liza Buss entered the year ranked No. 77 nationally in singles by the ITA. A successful team in the classroom as well as on the court, SMU was named an All-Academic Team by the ITA and Charline Anselmo, Monarrez Yesaki, Buss and Perez-Lopez were honored as ITA Scholar-Athletes.

In 2016-17, Gyulai led SMU to a 17-7 record (3-0 American) and to the American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championship semifinals for the third straight season. Gyulai guided the Mustangs to the most wins in a season since 2011 when SMU went 23-6 and advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Gyulai led the Mustangs to a No. 43 ranking in the Oracle and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings (March 7). For the second consecutive season, Gyulai had two Mustangs named to the All-American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis team. Liza Buss and Sarai Monarrez Yesaki were two of the 15 selections named to the team as both Mustangs recorded 21 wins in singles play. It was the first conference honor for Yesaki, while it was Buss second honor as she earned second-team All-Big 12 honors as a freshman at Iowa State in 2015. 

In 2015-16, Gyulai continued the ascension of the Mustangs women's tennis program as the team registered 14 victories and was ranked as high as No. 49 (Feb. 23) during the season. Gyulai guided SMU to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship for the second-consecutive year. The team graduated two all-conference selections in Vaszilisza Bulgakova and Hristina Dishkova. It was the second consecutive All-AAC honor for Dishkova and the second conference honor in Bulgakova's career after being named to the Third Team All-CUSA in 2013. Dishkova also received two AAC Player of the Week Awards (Feb. 2, Feb. 16). In singles play, Dishkova reached a career-high No. 58 ITA ranking (Feb. 23), while in doubles play, Dishkova and Bulgakova was ranked as high as No. 46 (Mar. 8).

Gyulai guided the team to a 16-7 overall record during the 2014-15 season and the Mustangs reached the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Mustangs reached a high team ranking of 46th in the ITA Rankings. The team's 16 victories is the highest single-season total under Gyulai. The team had one all-conference selection, junior Hristina Dishkova, and Dishkova and teammate Holly Verner set the school record for single-season doubles wins with 26.

In 2013-14, SMU finished 10-12 overall and was ranked as high as No. 48 during the season. The Mustangs got off to a rough start but rallied to win nine of its final 12 matches prior to falling in the quarterfinals of the inaugural American Athletic Conference tournament. Vaszilisza Bulgakova was the lone ranked individual for SMU in 2014 as she spent time ranked No. 108 in singles according to the ITA. Off the court, the Mustangs had three student-athletes earn honor roll academic honors from SMU, as Hristina Dishkova (High Distinction, Top 5%) Macie Elliott (Distinction, Top 10%) and Yana Erkeeva (Honor, Top 15%) were recognized.

In 2012-13, SMU finished 14-10 and ranked No. 51 by the ITA. The Mustangs recorded four wins over ranked teams and reached the Conference USA semifinals. Aleksandra Malyarchikova and Edyta Cieplucha spent most of the spring in the nation's top 125, with Malyarchikova reaching No. 65 (final ranking of No. 75). In doubles, Malyarchikova and Vaszilisza Bulgakova climbed as high as No. 61 during the season. Malyarchikova and Cieplucha were named All-C-USA First Team, while Vaszilisza Bulgakova was selected to the All-C-USA Third Team. Off the court, the recruiting class for 2013 was ranked No. 13 by TennisRecruting.net.

In the spring of 2012, the Mustangs finished an injury-plagued season 1-17, with Gyulai taking over after an 0-2 start. The squad lost USTA/ITA National Indoor Champion Marta Lesniak to graduation in Dec. and was missing Shahzoda Hatamova and Aleksandra Malyarchikova due to injuries. The team's win came against No. 40 Princeton.

In the fall of 2011, Gyulai led the Cowgirl doubles team of Veronica Popovici and Simona Synkova to the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Synkova and Popovici qualified for the tournament after winning the USTA/ITA Mountain Regional Tournament in Las Vegas, going 5-0 en route to the championship.

In 2010-11, Gyulai and the Wyoming tennis team posted a 14-9 record, tying the school record for wins in a season. The team also won its quarterfinal match of the Mountain West Tournament, besting 50th-ranked San Diego State. Three Cowgirls earned All-MWC honors, as Popovici was selected All-MWC in singles, and Synkova and Kim van Ginkel were chosen for doubles. The Cowgirls were ranked in the Campbell's/ITA rankings four times during the season including a school-best mark of 68th on March 22. They finished the season 74th.

In 2009-10, Gyulai's team also posted 14 wins and finished third in the MWC. Alexandra Kovacs was named All-MWC in singles, while the team of Synkova and van Ginkel earned All-Conference honors in doubles. In her first season with the program in 2009, Gyulai led the team to an 8-16 record.

Gyulai returned to her alma mater after spending the previous two seasons as the head coach of both the men's and women's tennis teams at Louisiana-Lafayette (2006-08). She also served one year as an associate head coach (2005-06).

During the spring of 2008, Gyulai led the women's team to a 16-8 mark overall and an ITA national ranking of 64th during the spring season. On the men's side, Piotrek Banas achieved an ITA singles ranking of 40th and was named first-team All-Sun Belt Conference. In the spring of 2007, the Louisiana Lafayette women's program reentered the ITA national rankings at No. 73 and finished the year with a 13-9 mark. Gyulai spent the 2005-06 season as the associate head women's coach and helped lead the team to a No. 73 ranking nationally and a 14-6 record. The team was ranked as high as 51st during the spring. It marked the first national ranking in the history of ULL women's tennis.

Prior to ULL, Gyulai spent the 2004-05 campaign at New Orleans as an assistant coach, helping the team to a 14-4 overall record. During the 2003-04 season, Gyulai served as an assistant coach with the men's and women's teams' at the University of Texas-Pan American.

Gyulai was a two-year letterwinner for the Wyoming tennis team (2002-2003) and earned her bachelor's degree in international studies with a concentration in Eastern Europe in 2003. She was named to the Mountain West Conference Academic All-Conference teams and was a member of the honor roll in 2002 and 2003. Gyulai was also a recipient of the Cowboy Joe Athletic Club Rendel Family Athletic Scholarship.

Gyulai is a native Hungarian but was raised in Transylvania, Romania. She received her Master's in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in December 2007. She holds her USPTA Professional 1 certification, is a USTA High Performance Certified Coach, was named the 2010 Intermountain College Coach of the Year and is fluent in several languages.
 

The Kati Gyulai File 
Hometown: Gyergyoszentmiklos, Romania
Alma Mater (Year): Wyoming (2003)

Gyulai Coaching Awards 
2010 Intermountain College Coach of the Year

Gyulai Year-by-Year Career Coaching Record
Season, Overall Record
2006-07, 13-9 (women), 13-9 (men)
2007-08, 16-8 (women), 7-12 (men)
2008-09, 8-16
2009-10, 14-8
2010-11, 14-9
2011-12, 1-1
2011-12, 1-15
2012-13, 14-10
2013-14, 10-12
2014-15, 16-7
2015-16, 14-10
2016-17, 17-7
2017-18, 17-9
Totals, 175-144