The SMU Mustangs will be back in action against No. 22 USF on Friday at 5 p.m. CT at the SMU Tennis Complex. USF will be the second American Athletic Conference foe that SMU has played this season.

SMU is currently ranked 36th in the country and has been listed as high as 34th, on March 17. The No. 34 ranking was the highest the program had been pegged since closing the 2004 season at the same position after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mustangs also have their best record through 22 matches since the 2001 season when the team went 24-3 and reached the NCAA semifinals.

SMU's No. 1 doubles duo, senior Arturs Kazijevs and sophomore Markus Kerner, is currently ranked 63rd nationally. The tandem is 9-6 this spring, including two wins over ranked doubles pairs - then-No. 79 Guilherme Hadlich / Rakshay Thakkar of Pepperdine (March 10) and then-No. 16 Arjun Kadhe / Jakob Sude of Oklahoma State (March 17). Junior Nate Lammons and sophomore Arkadijs Slobodkins are 12-1 this spring in doubles at the No. 2 position. Lammons and Kerner have each won their last three singles matches, as well.

SMU has a 15-4 record in the 19 home matches played in the new SMU Tennis Complex this season. SMU will play a total of 22 home matches, the most since Carl Neufeld came to SMU in 1994. The 15-4 mark is SMU's best since 2008, when the Mustangs went 17-2 in Dallas and 20-9 overall, obtaining a final ITA ranking of No. 43.

SCOUTING USF
USF is 13-5 and ranked 22nd nationally. The Bulls' five losses are all to teams currently ranked in the ITA top 50. USF is coming off a 4-3 loss to No. 20 Tulsa on Sunday, which snapped a nine-match winning streak. The Bulls own wins over two top-25 teams this season, beating both No. 18 Vanderbilt and No. 21 Texas Tech. Roberto Cid leads the Bulls in singles play, ranking 20th nationally. Cid also pairs with Sasha Gozun to form the nation's 23rd-ranked doubles duo. Oliver Pramming and Justin Roberts are also ranked in doubles, coming in at No. 36.
SERIES INFO: The two teams last met on April 7, 2013, when the Bulls walked away with a 4-3 win on a neutral court in South Bend, Indiana. SMU won the doubles point and received singles wins from Arturs Kazijevs and Mischa Nowicki in the loss.

MUSTANGS LEAD ITA ATTENDANCE RACE THROUGH FEBRUARY
The SMU Mustangs men's tennis team is currently leading the nation in total home attendance, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) has announced. A total of 3,055 fans have watched SMU play at the new SMU Tennis Complex so far this season. SMU's total attendance is nearly 800 people higher than second-place Illinois (2,265) and third-place Utah (2,263). The Mustangs also hold the season's highest single-match attendance total comfortably. 1,825 fans came out to watch SMU host Texas on Jan. 31.

TAKING ON RANKED TEAMS
The Mustangs will be playing their ninth match against a top-75 opponent when they host No. 22 USF on Friday. The Mustangs own two wins over top-75 teams, beating then-No. 43 Pepperdine and then-No. 54 Cal Poly on a single California road trip in mid-March. The Mustangs have two more teams remaining on the schedule that are currently ranked - No. 10 TCU (April 8) and No. 48 Rice (April 12). SMU has also beaten three teams that are currently ranked that were not in the top-75 at the time of the match - No. 60 UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 19, 6-1), No. 65 Troy (Jan. 24, 5-2) and No. 56 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 12, 5-2).

BUTLER ON A ROLL
Freshman Samm Butler, who hails from Marlborough, United Kingdom, leads SMU in dual-match singles victories this spring with 17. Butler is 17-3 (1-0 at No. 1, 2-0 at No. 2, 14-3 at No. 3) this season. Butler picked up his first win over a ranked opponent with a 6-4, 6-4 straight-set victory over No. 122 Arjun Kadhe of No. 31 Oklahoma State on March 18. Butler also held a team-best unbeaten streak of 13 straight matches from Feb. 8-March 17.

DOUBLES DOMINANCE
The SMU Mustangs have won 17 of 20 possible doubles points this season and have accumulated a 39-11 record (.780 winning percentage) this spring. Nate Lammons and Arkadijs Slobodkins are 12-1 so far in 2015. Arturs Kazijevs and Markus Kerner are ranked 63rd nationally, and beat then-No. 16 Arjun Kadhe and Jakob Sude of No. 31 Oklahoma State on March 18, 7-5.

THE HEART OF THE ORDER
SMU has been particularly strong at singles positions 3-5 this season, boasting a combined 55-9 (.859) record at those spots. Samm Butler has 14 wins at No. 3, while Nate Lammons has 13 at No. 4 and Arkadijs Slobodkins has 11 at No. 5. SMU is 20-3 (.870) overall at No. 3, with Lammons, Slobodkins and Julio Olaya going 2-0 there. SMU also only has three losses at No. 5 singles, with Olaya holding a 2-0 record and Tony Russell, Charles Nettlefold and Eric Fitz-Randolph going 1-0.

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."

SLOBODKINS' STREAKS
Sophomore Arkadijs Slobodkins has held two different extended unbeaten streaks this season. Slobodkins went unbeaten over a 10-match stretch from Feb. 28-March 28, and also had an eight-match win streak from Jan. 25-Feb. 14. The Riga, Latvia, native also held a 29-game winning streak over the span of three matches from Feb. 8-12. Slobodkins is 15-3 overall this spring.

NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPACT
Five Mustangs have made their SMU debut in 2014-15:
-Markus Kerner, So. (transfer from Tennessee): 13-9 in dual-match single play, including a 6-2 record at the No. 1 position... ranked 63rd nationally in doubles with Arturs Kazijevs.
-Samm Butler, Fr.: Leads team with 17-3 record in singles... Beat then-No. 122 Arjun Kadhe of Oklahoma State on March 18... Went unbeaten for 13 straight matches, spanning Feb. 8-March 17.
-Eric Fitz-Randolph, Fr.: Won his only singles match this spring against Alfred Carroll of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
-Alec Josepher, Fr.: 3-0 in singles this spring, all coming at the No. 6 position.
-Charles Nettlefold, Fr.: 9-4 in dual-match singles action, with eight wins at the No. 6 spot.

KAZIJEVS LOOKING TO FINISH COLLEGE CAREER ON HIGH NOTE
Arturs Kazijevs, SMU's only senior this season, 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 nine singles wins this spring, with seven coming at the No. 1 spot.

LAMMONS IN THE ITA SINGLES RANKINGS
Nate Lammons, a junior from Texas, entered the ITA national singles rankings for the first time in his collegiate career, ranking 110th on March 17. Lammons is 15-3 in singles this spring, including 13 wins at the No. 4 position. Lammons also had a great fall season, advancing to the singles final at the Jack Kramer Club Invitational. Overall, Lammons went 8-4 in the fall and tied for second on the team in singles wins last year with 17.

SMU VS. THE STATE OF TEXAS
The Mustangs are 4-2 against foes from Texas this season. SMU has victories over Abilene Christian, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Incarnate Word and Texas-Pan American. SMU has two matches left against in-state competition, hosting both TCU (April 8) and Rice (April 12).

KERNER NAMED AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERECE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (MARCH 10)
Sophomore Markus Kerner was named Player of the Week by the American Athletic Conference on March 10 after having a perfect day against Sacramento State and Texas-Pan American on March 6. Kerner went 2-0 in both singles and doubles over the two matches.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Carl Neufeld
On the SMU-Texas match being the top-attended match in the nation to this point...
"We are excited that in the first featured match (against Texas) our new SMU Tennis Complex, the Dallas sports community filled the Ann and Brad Brookshire Family Pavilion on all three floors, including the Edwin Cox third-floor stadium suite. The late Dan Magill would be proud. We are looking forward to the outdoor season and more excitement at the Turpin Outdoor Tennis Stadium."
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 opening the SMU Tennis Complex...
"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.