DALLAS -- Following its first road trip of the season, the SMU women's tennis team returns to Dallas for a matchup with cross-town rival and 27th-ranked TCU on Thursday, March 5 at 6 p.m. CT at the SMU Tennis Complex.

SMU Tennis Complex:
5669 N Central Expressway | SMU | 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.

After entering the rankings at No. 47 last week, the Mustangs fell out of the top 75 after suffering two losses to ranked opponents over the weekend. In their first road trip of the season, the Mustangs headed to the Sooner State, where they dropped a pair of tough matches to No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 31 Oklahoma.

LAST TIME OUT - OKLAHOMA STATE & OKLAHOMA
After beginning the season with seven consecutive wins, the Mustangs went 0-2 on their first road trip of the season, falling to No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 31 Oklahoma, both 4-0. "We put ourselves in a position to win but came out one point too short in key games," said head coach Kati Gyulai, following the weekend's matches. "We still have plenty left in the season to continue improving."

SCOUTING No. 27 TCU
The Horned Frogs enter the weekend riding a two-match winning streak, with both victories coming over ranked American Athletic Conference teams. On Feb. 20, TCU defeated then-No. 62 USF, 5-2, before defeating then-No. 59 Tulsa, 4-2, on Feb. 28. Simona Parajova is the 48th-ranked singles player in the country and has posted a 15-4 record so far this season, including a 4-2 mark versus nationally-ranked opponents. Palina Dubavets is 14-4 this season, including a 5-1 record in the No. 4 singles slot. Stefanie Tan, TCU's No. 1 singles player, is 7-9 this season.
Series History: SMU is 4-14 all-time versus TCU. The Horned Frogs have won the past three meetings, including a 4-3 victory last year in Fort Worth. The Mustangs' last win over TCU was a 5-2 victory in Dallas on April 5, 2011.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Thursday's match versus 27th-ranked TCU will mark the fourth consecutive match that the Mustangs have faced a ranked opponent. On Feb. 22, SMU defeated then-No. 62 USF, before falling to No. 12 Oklahoma State (Feb. 27) and No. 31 Oklahoma (Feb. 28) last weekend.

WINNING RECORDS
Four Mustangs have double digit wins and an above .500 winning percentage in singles this season. Dasha Sharapova boasts the team's best record with a 16-6 mark, while Hristina Dishkova is 16-10, Vaszilisza Bulgakova is 15-7 and Mary Wright is 14-9.

STREAKING MUSTANGS
SMU has won seven consecutive home matches to begin the 2014 season, including a 5-2 win over then-No. 62 USF in its last home match on Feb. 22. Vaszilisza Bulgakova owns the Mustangs' longest winning streak in singles, with seven straight victories to start the spring, while Hristina Dishkova and Holly Verner have a six-match winning streak in doubles.

DISHKOVA, VERNER DOMNINATING IN DOUBLES
Junior Hristina Dishkova and senior Holly Verner enter the spring season as the sixth-ranked doubles pair in the Texas region, after reaching the semifinals of the ITA Texas Regional, narrowly missing a berth to the ITA Indoor Championships. They are 17-4 overall this year and 38-21 in their career. Their 38 career wins rank fourth all-time.
Team Doubles Victories (Career)
1. Lesniak / Malyarchikova 2008-11 53
2. Greyvenstyn / Zerdan 1994-97 49
3. Langer / Leuszler 2002-05 39
4. Dishkova / Verner 2012-present 38

IN THE ITA RANKINGS
Junior Vaszilisza Bulgakova is the only Mustang to have appeared in the ITA national singles rankings. Bulgakova reached a ranking of 108 last year. Regionally, Hristina Dishkova and Holly Verner are ranked sixth in doubles in the ITA Texas region.

FOREIGN CONNECTION
Four of the eight student-athletes on SMU's roster hail from foreign countries. Vaszilisza Bulgakova (Hungary), Hristina Dishkova (Germany), Yana Erkeeva (Russia) and Dasha Sharapova (Belarus) all represent different nationalities. In addition to the student-athletes, head coach Kati Gyulai is a native Hungarian and was raised in Transylvania, Romania.

UP NEXT - HAWAII & CAL STATE FULLERTON
The Mustangs will make their second road trip of the season next week, heading to Hawaii for a pair of non-conference matches. On Wednesday, March 11, SMU takes on No. 60 Hawaii at 3 p.m. HT/7 p.m. CT, before playing Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, March 12, at 10 a.m. HT/2 a.m. CT.