Mustangs Take On No. 28 Houston On Wednesday
Apr 7 | Women's Tennis
| #70 SMU (14-5, 3-2 American) at #28 Houston (19-4, 6-0 American) | |
| Date & Start Time | Wednesday, April 8 at 11 a.m. CT |
| Location | John E. Hoff Courts | Houston, Texas |
| Live Scoring | UHCougars.com |
| Match Notes | Notes (.pdf) |
| /SMUMustangs | /SMUTennisW | |
| @SMUMustangs | @SMUTennis | |
DALLAS -- The SMU women's tennis team travels to Houston for an American Athletic Conference match on Wednesday, April 8 at 11 a.m. at the John E. Hoff Courts. SMU is ranked 70th in the latest ITA rankings released on April 7. Houston is 28th, and is the highest-ranked team in The American.
SMU (14-5, 3-2 The American) had its three-match winning streak snapped last weekend, falling to conference foe Memphis, 4-0, on Friday. Wednesday's matchup with the Cougars is the Mustangs' final road match of the regular season. The Mustangs will then host Abilene Christian on Friday, April 10 at 3 p.m. at the SMU Tennis Complex for Senior Day.
SCOUTING HOUSTON
Houston (19-4, 6-0 The American), ranked 28th in the ITA rankings, enters Wednesday on a 15-match winning streak including 10 in a row at home. During their streak, the Cougars have defeated six ranked opponents. Houston last lost on Feb. 14 at Kansas, 4-3. Despoina Vogasari is the Cougars' top singles player and is ranked 62nd in the country. Vogasari is 27-8, including a 16-5 mark in the No. 1 singles slot. She is also 6-4 versus ranked opponents. Elena Kordolaimi is also ranked in singles at No. 102 and leads the Cougars in wins with 28.
Series History: SMU is 11-4 all-time versus Houston. The Cougars won last year's meeting 5-2 in Dallas, but the Mustangs had won the previous nine meetings. The teams first met in 1995.
DISHKOVA, VERNER DOMNINATING DOUBLES
Junior Hristina Dishkova and senior Holly Verner's 24 doubles wins is a new school record. The previous record was 22, set by Nicole Briceno and Kseniia Tokarieva (2008-09) and Renee Greyvenstryn and Patricia Zerdan (1996-97). They entered 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 24-5 overall this year, including a 13-1 mark in dual match play. Their 45 career wins are third all-time at SMU.
Team Doubles Victories (Career)
1. Lesniak / Malyarchikova 2008-11 53
2. Greyvenstyn / Zerdan 1994-97 49
3. Dishkova / Verner 2012-present 45
Team Doubles Victories (Season)
1. Dishkova / Verner 2014-15 24
2t. Briceno / Tokarieva 2008-09 22
2t. Greyvenstryn / Zerdan 1996-97 22
20-WIN CLUB
In singles, Hristina Dishkova and Dasha Sharapova have both eclipsed the 20-win mark this season. Dishkova's record stands at 21-13, including a 11-5 mark in the No. 1 singles slot. Sharapova has the best singles record of any Mustang with a 22-9 mark. Sharapova, who was named all-conference last season, is 12-4 in No. 3 singles in dual matches.
WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Hristina Dishkova and Dasha Sharapova have both received The American Player of the Week honors this season. Sharapova earned the award on March 17 after helping the Mustangs earn two wins on their road trip to Hawaii. She went a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles versus Hawaii and Cal State Fullerton. A week later (March 24) Dishkova received the honor following a record-breaking performance in doubles. The duo went 3-0, setting a new school record with 23 single season doubles victories. She also defeated Emily Olivier in the Mustangs' 4-0 victory over New Mexico.
SMU VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
SMU has faced seven ranked opponents so far this season, posting a 4-3 record in those matches. The Mustangs have wins over No. 62 USF (5-2, Feb. 22), No. 64 Hawaii (6-1, March 11), No. 41 New Mexico (4-0, March 20) and No. 75 Kansas (4-3, March 28). SMU's three losses to ranked foes have come to highly-ranked Big 12 teams (Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, TCU).
IN THE ITA RANKINGS
SMU appears in the national ITA rankings for the fourth time this season, coming in at No. 61 in the latest rankings (March 31). The ranking is a one-spot improvement over the last ranking (No. 62, March 24). The Mustangs reached their highest ranking on Feb. 24 (No. 47). 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 - ABILENE CHRISTIAN (SENIOR DAY)
The Mustangs host Abilene Christian on Friday, April 10 at 3 p.m. at the SMU Tennis Complex for Senior Day. Holly Verner, the lone senior on this year's roster, will be honored during the intermission between doubles and singles.
