SMU vs. Abilene Christian University
Date & Start Time	Friday, Jan. 13 at 6:00 p.m.
Location	SMU Tennis Complex - Dallas, Texas
SMU vs. No. 4 Texas
Date & Start Time	Sunday, Jan. 15 at 4:30 p.m.
Location	SMU Tennis Complex - Dallas, Texas
Notes	Match Notes (.pdf)
Live Scores	Live Scores
Facebook	/SMUMustangs | /SMU Men's Tennis
Twitter	@SMUMustangs | @SMUTennisM

Jan. 11, 2017

SMU opens its 2016 spring campaign hosting Abilene Christian University Friday Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. and No. 4 Texas on Sunday Jan. 15 at 4:30 p.m. The Mustangs return from a historic season after advancing to the Round of 16 in the 2016 NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. SMU returns several upperclassmen who led the team to post season success, including seniors Hunter Johnson and Yates Johnson and juniors Samm Butler and Ronald Slobodchikov.
 
SCOUTING ACU
Abilene Christian returns a young but talented roster this season. Sophomore Hunter Holman was named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year last season and freshman Joshua Sheehy was tabbed Southland Conference Freshman of the Year after posting a 16-10 record in singles and playing all his dual matches at No. 1. He was also named First Team Southland Conference Doubles at No. 3 with sophomore Sebastian Langdon.

"They're very tough," head coach Carl Neufeld said. "Sheehy is one of the best players in the area. They've got a number of other good players that will be playing, so we're excited for the first match. Playing against them will be a challenge to see how we do."

SERIES INFO
SMU and ACU will meet for the seventh time when they go head-to-head Friday. The Mustangs lead the series 6-0, with all six previous matches played at SMU. The Mustangs picked up the most recent victory Jan., 25, 2015, beating the Wildcats, 7-0.
 
SCOUTING TEXAS
The No. 4 Longhorns Texas boast three top-50 singles placings and two top-50 doubles ranks in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason men's tennis rankings.
 
UT returns all but one letterwinner from the 2016 squad that reached the NCAA Championships' round of 16 and came within a third-set tiebreaker from advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals. The Longhorns also bring young talent to Dallas.
 
Freshman Christian Sigsgaard is ranked No. 6 nationally in singles. Freshman Yuya Ito joins his classmate Sigsgaard in the top-40 of the ITA singles rankings at No. 36, and sophomore Harrison Scott comes in at No. 47.  Ito joins Scott to rank 38th nationally in doubles, while sophomores Rodrigo Banzer and Leo Telles hold the No. 44 slot.
 
"They're No. 4 for a reason," Neufeld said. "They brought in a couple freshmen that did very well in the national tournament and are ranked quite high nationally. The No. 4 ranking applies. They are talented from top to bottom. It'll be a great opportunity for us to see where we are at, at a national level and give ourselves a chance to compete against some of the best in college tennis.
 
"The match ups against Texas are interesting because like us, they are very even from top to bottom. They're number one players are their number six players are virtually the same. We're excited for six great matches with the highest level of competition."
 
SERIES INFO
SMU is 5-21 all-time against the Longhorns, with a 2-8 record at home. The two teams last met at Jan. 31, 2015, at SMU when the Mustangs dropped a 4-2 decision. The Mustangs last beat Texas March 7, 2001 in a 4-3 decision in Austin, Texas.
 
2015-16 SEASON RECAP
 
The SMU men's tennis team reached the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships and finished the season ranked No. 22 in the nation. It capped a historic season for the Mustangs, who posted a 22-9 record, including a 3-1 mark in American Athletic Conference play.

It was the 23rd NCAA Championship appearance for SMU and the 12th Round of 16 run. To reach the final 16, SMU earned wins over then-No. 39 Washington and then-No. 8 Texas Tech in the first and second rounds, respectively.

The Mustangs earned nine wins against ranked teams in the 2015-16 season, including against then-No. 5 Oklahoma State, then-No. 17 USF and then-No. 20 Tulsa. SMU had 13 shutout victories on the year, tying a school-record that was set in 1998-99, when SMU finished with a 28-5 record and also reached the Round of 16.

Individually, the Mustangs had standout performers in both singles and doubles play last year. In singles action, Hunter Johnson was ranked as high as No. 31 and received an AAC Player of the Week honor for the week of March 29, 2016, joining teammate Samm Butler, who also earned the accolade for the week of March 15, 2016.

In doubles play, the duo of Hunter and Yates Johnson won 27 matches, placing the pair second in school history for most doubles wins as a duo in a season. The Johnson twins earned All-Conference honors for doubles, while Hunter received All-Conference honors for singles as well. The Johnson twins were ranked the last nine weeks of the season and ended as the No. 31 tandem in the nation.
 
SCOUTING THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The American Athletic Conference boasts one team ranked in the top 25 in the nation, with three AAC teams, including SMU, receiving votes in the ITA national poll.
                       
AAC Teams Ranked In The ITA Top 25
20           Mississippi State
21           Michigan
22           Baylor
23           Texas Tech
24           Columbia
25           South Florida*
Others Receiving Votes: (Duke, Florida State , SMU* , Tulsa* , South Carolina , Tulane* , Notre Dame , Mississippi)
 
*denotes American Athletic Conference team
 
TAKING ON RANKED TEAMS
For the fourth straight year in a row the Mustangs are scheduled to play at least six ITA Top-25 ranked teams, with the possibility to face 10 Top-25 ranked opponents. SMU welcomes five Top-25 ranked teams to the SMU Tennis Complex this season (No. 4 Texas, No. 7 TCU, No. 24 Columbia, No. 14 Oklahoma State and No. 25 USF).
 
ALL-AMERICANS UNDER NEUFELD
During Carl Neufeld's tenure as head coach at SMU, Mustang players have earned 11 All-America honors.
 
All-Americans at SMU under Carl Neufeld
Singles
Johan Brunstrom (2004)
Genius Chidzikwe (2001)
Toby Hansson (2000)
Ignacio Hirigoyen (1999)
 
Doubles
Eric Cohn (2002)
Johan Brunstrom (2001-02)
Jon Wallmark (2000-01)
Toby Hansson (2000)
Dustin Mauck (1999)
Keith Pollak (1999)
 
CARL NEUFELD— WINNINGEST ACTIVE SMU HEAD COACH
Head coach Carl Neufeld ranks second among all time wins at SMU with 398, and is the winningest active head coach on the SMU campus.

SMU Coaching All-Time Wins
                Coach                                                    Sport                                     SMU                      Career

1. Rhonda Rompola (1992-2016)     Women's Basketball       439                         439
2. Carl Neufeld (1994 - present)      Men's Tennis                     398                         579
3. Schellas Hyndman (1984-2007)   Men's Soccer                     368                         466
4. Lisa Seifert (1996 - present)         Volleyball                            364                         383
5. Doc Hayes (1947-1967                    Men's Basketball             299                         299

*As of Jan. 9, 2017