SMU Continues Homestand With Sam Houston State, Northwestern State And UTRGV

Friday, February 3

Dallas, Texas

5 P.M.

SMU

Sam Houston State

SMU Continues Homestand With Sam Houston State, Northwestern State And UTRGV

Feb 1 | Women's Tennis

SMU vs Memphis Box Season Stats - 13117

Mustangs Face Bearkats Friday Before Doubleheader Saturday Against Lady Demons and UTRGV

SMU (2-0) vs. Sam Houston State (2-2)
Date & Start Time	Friday, Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. CT
Location	SMU Tennis Complex - Dallas, Texas
Live Stats \| Match Notes	Live Stats \| Match Notes
Facebook	/SMUMustangs \| /SMUTennisW
Twitter	@SMUMustangs \| @SMUTennis
SMU (2-0) vs. Northwestern State (0-2)
Date & Start Time	Saturday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. CT
Location	SMU Tennis Complex - Dallas, Texas
Live Stats \| Match Notes	Live Stats \| Match Notes
Facebook	/SMUMustangs \| /SMUTennisW
Twitter	@SMUMustangs \| @SMUTennis
SMU (2-0) vs. UTRGV (1-3)
Date & Start Time	Saturday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m. CT
Location	SMU Tennis Complex - Dallas, Texas
Live Stats \| Match Notes	Live Stats \| Match Notes
Facebook	/SMUMustangs \| /SMUTennisW
Twitter	@SMUMustangs \| @SMUTennis

Feb. 1, 2017

DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's team continues its homestand with three matches this weekend at the SMU Tennis Complex.

The Mustangs will first face Sam Houston State Friday at 5 p.m. CT, before returning to the court Saturday for a doubleheader against Northwestern State and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). The Mustangs will first face the Lady Demons at 1 p.m. CT, followed by a match against UTRGV at 5 p.m. CT.

The Mustangs opened the spring season last week with two wins against Abilene Christian and Prairie View A&M.

"We had a good start to the season last week," head coach Kati Gyulai said. "We had a great crowd that came out to support us and we look forward to building our fan base and our community. We have the best fans in the country. This weekend we look for small improvements in all areas."

LAST MATCHES: (W, 6-1 vs. Abilene Christian; W, 6-1 vs. Prairie View A&M – Jan. 29)
For the third consecutive season, SMU started the season 2-0 after recording 6-1 victories against Abilene Christian and Prairie View A&M in a doubleheader on Jan. 29. Three Mustangs (Sarai Monarrez Yesaki, Ana Perez-Lopez and Dasha Sharapova) went 2-0 each in singles play to lead SMU. In doubles play, SMU won two matches against Abilene Christian before winning all three matches against Prairie View. The Mustangs improved to 10-0 all-time against the Wildcats and 5-0 against the Panthers.

SCOUTING SAM HOUSTON STATE
Sam Houston State (2-2) started its spring season with two 7-0 wins at home against Prairie View A&M (Jan.13) and UTRGV (Jan. 15). However, the Bearkats have dropped their last two matches on the road, falling 7-0 at ULM (Jan. 21) and 6-1 at Louisiana Tech (Jan. 29).

SERIES HISTORY:
SMU is 7-0 all-time against Sam Houston State dating back to their first meeting in 1997. The two programs will face each other for the fifth consecutive year. The Mustangs defeated the Bearkats, 7-0, last season.

There were matchups between competitors from SMU and Sam Houston State in the fall at the SMU Invite (Oct. 7-9). Sara Jamal fell 6-3, 6-4, to Dianne Friedrichs in singles play, while Macie Elliott and Ellie Zogg defeated Fabienne Gettwart and Carrie Casey 6-4 in doubles.

Sam Houston State (7-0)
Home: 7-0, Away: 0-0, Neutral: 0-0

2/15/1997	H	W	8-0
2/9/2003	H	W	7-0
1/22/2005	H	W	6-1
2/17/2013	H	W	5-2
3/1/2014	H	W	5-0
1/30/2015	H	W	7-0
2/5/2016	H	W	7-0

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN STATE
Northwestern State is 0-2 on the season and will play its first match of the season outside of the state of Louisiana. The Lady Demons have dropped matches at No. 19 LSU (7-0) and at Tulane (4-0).

SERIES HISTORY:
SMU will face Northwestern State for the fifth consecutive year. The Mustangs are 3-1 all-time against the Lady Demons.

Northwestern State (3-1)
Home: 3-1, Away: 0-0, Neutral: 0-0

2/11/2013	H	W	6-1
1/26/2014	H	L	4-3
2/15/2015	H	W	6-0
2/8/2016	H	W	7-0

SCOUTING UTRGV
UTRGV (1-3) won its season opener against Prairie View A&M (5-2) before dropping its next three matches to McNeese State (6-1), Baylor (4-0) and St. Mary's University (6-1). UTRGV will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UT Arlington before heading to Dallas for Saturday's contest.

SERIES HISTORY:
This is the first meeting.

ORACLE/ITA DIVISION I RANKINGS
Women's National Team
Administered by the ITA
(as of February 1, 2017)

Rank	School	Previous
1	University of Florida	1
2	University of North Carolina	2
3	Pepperdine University	3
4	Stanford University	4
5	Oklahoma State	5
6	University of Georgia	6
7	Ohio State	7
8	California	8
9	Vanderbilt University	9
10	Duke University	10
11	Georgia Tech	11
12	Texas Tech	13
13	University of Michigan	14
14	Auburn University	15
15	Texas A&M	22
16	Arizona State	21
17	University of Miami (FL)	12
18	University of Texas	17
19	Mississippi	NR
20	UCLA	24
21	University of South Carolina	16
22	USC	18
23	Northwestern	25
24	Mississippi State	23
25	University of Kentucky	20

2017 OUTLOOK:
SMU will be led by seniors Mary Wright, Macie Elliott and Dasha Sharapova after the graduation of all-conference performers Vaszilisza Bulgakova and Hristina Dishkova.

Gyulai has added a talented group of newcomers to the roster, including Charline Anselmo, Liza Buss, Sara Jamal, Sarai Monarrez Yesaki and Ellie Zogg. Buss transferred from Iowa State after earning All-Big 12 second-team honors and All-Big 12 Freshman team accolades last season. Zogg was a five-star recruit out of high school and transferred from South Carolina after her freshman season last year. Anselmo, Monarrez Yesaki and Jamal are all freshman.

Gyulai is in her sixth season at the helm on the Hilltop and led SMU to 14-10 record last season and a ITA ranking as high as No. 49 (Feb. 23) during the season. Gyulai also guided SMU to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship for the second-consecutive year.

ABOUT SMU TENNIS COMPLEX:
To ensure the future success of SMU's historic tennis program, a new SMU Tennis Complex, Turpin Stadium & Brookshire Family Pavilion opened in 2015. The new complex is a preeminent, top-tier facility located prominently on the south side of Mockingbird Lane at the corner of North Central Expressway, formerly the site of Mrs. Baird's Bakery.

The new complex provides both indoor and outdoor courts as well as a training center for student athletes and coaches, ensuring that Mustang players can train year-round on campus. In addition, patron accommodations optimize comfort and viewing and include special guest amenities and a club area, providing an enhanced spectator experience.

Match-day parking for the SMU Tennis Complex is available on campus in the Binkley and Moody Parking Centers. We ask that visitors not park in the residential areas surrounding the facility or in Park Cities Plaza.

HOME SWEET HOME:
SMU will take advantage of the two-year old SMU Tennis Complex, starting their season at home with six straight matches before facing back-to-back Big 12 opponents on the road. The Mustangs will first head to Norman to play Oklahoma on Feb. 19, followed by a trip to College Station, Texas to face No. 22 Texas A&M.

From Feb. 26 to April 1, the Mustangs will play a total of 10 matches at home, including four nationally ranked opponents (Arizona, Wichita State, Georgia State, UT Arlington) from the final ITA poll from last season.

UP NEXT:
SMU concludes its six-match homestand against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The Mustangs will then hit the road for a pair of matches at Oklahoma (Sunday, Feb. 19) and at No. 15 Texas A&M (Friday, Feb. 24).

FOLLOW THE MUSTANGS:
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Mustangs by following SMU Women's Tennis on Twitter at @SMUTennis and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SMUTennisW. Twitter at @SMUMustangs or Instagram at SMU.Mustangs.