The SMU Mustangs will host two opponents this weekend, facing Wisconsin on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT and then Incarnate Word on Sunday for an 11 a.m. match. SMU is 9-2 this season, and is coming off its first road match of the year at Arkansas on Saturday.

SMU is ranked for the first time this spring, coming in at No. 63 in the first computerized ITA rankings of the season. The Mustangs are ranked for the first time since being listed at No. 68 on April 23, 2013.

SMU Tennis Complex building address:
5669 N Central Expy | Southern Methodist University | Dallas, TX 75205
Parking: Match-day parking for the SMU Tennis Complex is available on campus in the Binkley and Moody Parking Centers. SMU athletics ask that visitors not park in the residential areas surrounding the facility or in Park Cities Plaza.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN
Wisconsin is 2-7 this season, owning wins over Seattle (4-0, Jan. 24) and Marquette (5-2, Feb. 18). The Badgers have played a challenging schedule, facing six opponents ranked in the ITA top 75. Josef Dodridge, who has won his last two matches, boasts Wisconsin's best singles record at 4-3, with two wins at No. 5.

SCOUTING INCARNATE WORD
Incarnate Word is 5-6 this season, winning four of their last six matches dating back to Feb. 14. Leonard Ivic is 7-4 at No. 1 singles, while Tucker Brown and Joey Vatanadilok form the team's top doubles duo with five wins at the No. 2 spot. Most recently, Incarnate Word lost to No. 13 Texas A&M, but Ryan Hoverson picked up a singles win at No. 6 over the highly-ranked Aggies.

LAST TIME OUT:SMU DROPS TIGHT ROAD MATCH AT ARKANSAS, 4-2
The SMU Mustangs continued their winning ways in doubles play, but could not hold on for the match as they lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks, 4-2.
SMU took the first point of the match by winning at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, extending the team's unbeaten streak in doubles play this season. Senior Arturs Kazijevs and sophomore Markus Kerner beat Santiago Munoz and Branch Terrell, 6-3 at No. 1, and then junior Nate Lammons paired with sophomore Arkadijs Slobodkins to win at the No. 2 spot, 6-4. Lammons and Slobodkins have not lost in their last eight matches.
The Mustangs then took a 2-0 lead with freshman Samm Butler winning at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 6-1, over Arkansas' Johan den Toom. Butler's win, which was the only one of the match to finish in straight sets, marked his sixth straight in singles play, dating back to Feb. 8.
Arkansas picked up its first point with Munoz topping Slobodkins at No. 5 singles. Slobodkins took the first set 6-1, but Munoz rebounded to take the final two sets 7-5, 6-1. The defeat marked Slobodkins' first since Jan. 24. Arkansas then won at the No. 1 and 6 positions to take a 3-2 edge.
The match came down to action on courts 2 and 4. Lammons' battle with William Albanese at No. 4 would decide the winner. Lammons took the first set 6-3, but Albanese turned the tables in set two, also winning 6-3. A lengthy tiebreaker in the third set ultimately was won by Albanese, 7-6 (9).

SMU, TEXAS SHOWCASE IN FRONT OF PACKED HOUSE
SMU hosted No. 9 Texas on Jan. 31 in front of 1,825 fans - an SMU tennis attendance record. SMU won the doubles point by taking matches on courts 2 and 3, but the Longhorns would take the match by a score of 4-2. SMU head coach Carl Neufeld was thrilled by the support his team received. "It was standing-room only everywhere; it couldn't have been better," Neufeld said. "I'm so proud of our fans and supporters that came out and watched an amazing match against this tremendous Texas team. This is an exciting beginning to our new future here."

BUTLER IS FIRST TO 10
Freshman Samm Butler, who hails from Marlborough, United Kingdom, became the first Mustang to reach 10 singles wins this spring with a straight-set victory over Johan den Toom of Arkansas on Feb. 21. Butler is 10-1 (2-0 at No. 2, 8-1 at No. 3) this season, and is currently on a six-match winning streak, which leads the team. Butler and doubles partner Tony Russell are unbeaten in their last six doubles matches and hold a 4-1 overall record.

SLOBODKINS' STREAK
Sophomore Arkadijs Slobodkins won eight straight singles matches, dating from Jan. 25-Feb. 14. Slobodkins and doubles partner Nate Lammons are unbeaten in their last six doubles matches as well, going back to Jan. 19. Also, after winning two matches on Feb. 8 by unblemished scores of 6-0, 6-0, Slobodkins won the first five games of his singles match against Javier Pujol of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 12, extending his game-winning streak to 29. Slobodkins is now 9-2 this spring.

KAZIJEVS READY TO LEAD
Arturs Kazijevs, SMU's only senior this season, is set to play a huge role in the Mustangs' 2015 plans. Kazijevs earned all-conference honors for the second straight season last year after winning 17 matches, including eight at No. 1 singles. Kazijevs beat four ranked players and ranked as high as 73rd himself. Kazijevs went 7-3 this fall and won two matches in the ITA Texas Regional. Kazijevs has started the season with a 6-3 record at No. 1 singles.

LAMMONS SET FOR BIG YEAR
Nate Lammons, a junior from Texas, is riding a good amount of momentum heading into the spring season. Lammons advanced to the singles final at the Jack Kramer Club Invitational, falling to Washington's Mitch Stewart in the championship. Lammons won all four of his matches in the tournament in straight sets, including a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Naoki Takeda of Arizona in the semifinals. Lammons also reached the semifinals in doubles with sophomore Arkadijs Slobodkins. Overall, Lammons went 8-4 in the fall and tied for second on the team in singles wins last year with 17. Lammons also paired with now-graduated Alex Sanders to lead SMU in doubles wins with 19. Lammons has opened the spring with a 6-2 record at No. 4 singles and a 6-0 record at No. 2 doubles with Slobodkins. Lammons and Slobodkins teamed up to beat Adrien Berkowicz and Nick Naumann of No. 9 Texas on Jan. 31, clinching the opening doubles point in the match for the Mustangs.

NEWCOMERS LOOKING TO MAKE IMPACT
The Mustangs had four players make their SMU debut this fall - sophomore Markus Kerner, a transfer from Tennessee, and freshmen Eric Fitz-Randolph, Alec Josepher and Charles Nettlefold. Kerner teamed with senior Arturs Kazijevs to go 3-0 in doubles this fall, while Josepher picked up three wins in singles play. Nettlefold is 5-1 at the No. 6 position, and both Fitz-Randolph and Josepher won their first dual matches on Feb. 8.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Carl Neufeld
On the new tennis facility...
"Our new tennis center will allow the entire Dallas community to enjoy the great sport of tennis in a world-class stadium. Indoor and outdoor stadiums with fantastic viewing of all 12 courts allows the fan experience to be both supreme and unique. College team tennis is very exciting and many of the top young players in the world will be here representing their universities in exciting team play."
SMU President R. Gerald Turner
On the new tennis facility, during the SMU Tennis Complex Dedication on Feb. 20...
"SMU is committed to creating opportunities for student success in all of their pursuits. The new tennis complex will enable us to recruit top-ranked student-athletes and develop programs that perform at the highest levels, building on SMU's legacy as home to world-class tennis events."

KAZIJEVS, KERNER, LAMMONS COMPETE AT RBC TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS OF DALLAS
Three Mustangs played in the highly-competitive RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas (Feb. 2-7) - senior Arturs Kazijevs, sophomore Markus Kerner and junior Nate Lammons. Kazijevs and Kerner continued their strong doubles play, advancing through the wild card bracket into the main doubles draw. The duo actually faced Lammons and former Indiana Hoosier standout Neil Kenner in the wild card bracket final, with Kazijevs and Kerner winning 6-3, 6-2. Kazijevs and Kerner lost in the first round of the main draw to Denys Molchanov (Ukraine) and Andrey Rublev (Russia), 6-4, 5-7, 10-7. Molchanov has a career-high ITF doubles ranking of 85.