RESULTS

NORMAN, Okla. (SMU) -The SMU women's tennis team finished play at the OU Invite Sunday after three days of doubles and singles play at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

The tournament started on Friday with doubles play in the morning with the SMU pairs of Yana Erkeeva and Vaszilisza Bulgakova who went 1-2 along with Macie Elliott and Mary Wright finishing an even 2-2.

SMU's Doubles Results:

Thoma/Galleva (UNT) def. Erkeeva/Bulgakova 6-2
Erkeeva/Bulgakova def. Quan/Zimmerman (WSU) 6-2
Crossnoe/Jackson (TT) def. Erkeeva/Bulgakova 6-4

Devine/Sethi (OU) def. Elliott/Wright 6-2
Elliott/Wright def. Castellano/Stretton (KSU) 7-6 (5)
(37) Saarteinen/Kurikova (Tulsa) def. Elliott/Wright 6-4
Elliott/Wright def. Shestakova/Valenzuela (UNT) 6-4

Head coach Kati Gyulai really liked what she saw from her doubles pair of Elliott and Wright, a tandem that went 5-0 together last season.

"This tournament was a great starting point for us. Macie and Mary played excellent doubles. They will have a lot of success this year," Gyulai said.

The Mustangs had a 6-9 record in singles play with all four women earning victories. Elliott was the shining light in singles play, going 3-1 over four round robin matches over the three days.

SMU's Singles Results:

Erkeeva vs. Sethi (OU) 0-6, 4-6
Erkeeva vs. Kononova (UNT) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
Erkeeva vs. Fotopoulos (OU) 3-6, 1-6

Bulgakova vs. Valenstein (TT) 2-6, 1-6
Bulgakova vs. Navas (KSU) 2-6, 2-6
Bulgakova vs. Costamagna (KSU) 2-4, ret.

Wright vs. Valenzuela (UNT) 5-7, 6-7 (2)
Wright vs. Stripp (OU) 6-1, 6-2
Wright vs. Kadzhaya (TCU) 1-6, 5-7
Wright vs. Cirnu (KSU) 6-7, 6-2, 4-6

Elliott vs. Quan (WSU) 6-2, 6-2
Elliott vs. Pump (WSU) 0-6, 3-6
Elliott vs. Panaite (KSU) 6-4, 7-6
Elliott vs. Zimmerman (WSU) 6-0, 6-1


"We battled hard in singles and everyone came home with victories," Gyulai said. "It doesn't matter how many errors we make in the matches. What matters is how we react to those errors. I am proud of our attitude and effort."

With a roster compiled of mainly seniors and juniors, SMU will look to count on that experience moving forward in the fall and into the spring.

"Our strength this year is the maturity of the team. Our student-athletes have been in the trenches for a couple of years, they know what is going on," Gyulai said.

Next up on the schedule for SMU this fall is an International Tennis Federation event in Charleston, South Carolina starting tomorrow and continuing throughout the week.