April 17, 2017
DALLAS (SMU) – No. 3 seed SMU heads to Florida for the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championship hosted at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, April 20-22. The Mustangs will play No. 6 seed East Carolina (11-10, 1-1) or No. 11 seed Connecticut (10-12, 0-5) in the quarterfinal on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT.
SMU (16-6, 3-0) is one of three teams heading into the tournament that is undefeated in conference play. No. 1 seed Tulsa is 18-6 overall and 3-0 in league play and No. 2 seed Tulane is 22-6 with a 4-0 record in The American.
The Mustangs have advanced to the conference tournament semifinals the past two years and are the No. 3 seed for the second straight year.
The first round of the championship will take place on Wednesday with the top five seeds, No. 1 Tulsa and No. 2 Tulane, No. 3 SMU, No. 4 Cincinnati and No. 5 Memphis, receiving a bye. The quarterfinals will be held Thursday with the semifinals scheduled for Friday. Fans can watch the championship match live Saturday on The American Digital Network at
www.theamerican.org/watch. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT.
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
No. 6 seed East Carolina enters the conference championship 11-10 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Pirates have won four of their last five and have played two ranked opponents (North Carolina and Wake Forest). East Carolina is led by freshman Nastja Rettich, who is 12-7 in singles play. Sophomore Celia Ruiz enters the tournament with an 11-6 record in No. 1 singles. In doubles play, Ruiz and freshman Lisa Hofbauer lead the squad with 12 wins.
SERIES HISTORY:
SMU is 2-0 all-time against East Carolina and will face the Pirates for the second time in three years. The Mustangs won both matches 4-0.
East Carolina (2-0)
Home: 1-0, Away: 0-0, Neutral: 1-0
| 4/22/11 |
N |
W |
4-0 |
| 3/21/15 |
H |
W |
4-0 |
SCOUTING CONNECTICUT
No. 11 seed Connecticut is 10-12 but have yet to record a win in league play. However, the Huskies have won three of their last five matches. Junior Yelyzaveta Pletnyeva leads the team in singles play with a 22-8 record. Sophomores Jacquelyn Fitz-Randolph and Gillian Perrotta have paired up in doubles play and enters the championship with a 21-7 record.
SERIES HISTORY:
This would be the first meeting between SMU and Connecticut.
ABOUT USTA NATIONAL CAMPUS - VIDEO:
With 100 tennis courts spread across 64 magnificent acres, the USTA National Campus offers unparalleled playing, training and educational experiences for recreational players, competitive players, coaches and spectators.
SHARAPOVA NAMED THE AMERICAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK (3/21/2017)
SMU senior
Dasha Sharapova was named the American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week. The Gomel, Belarus, native earns her third career conference honor after going a combined 6-0 in singles and doubles play, while leading the Mustangs to 3-0 record last week against Georgia State, Cincinnati and Kansas State. Sharapova picked up the honor once during her sophomore season (March 17, 2015) and again last season (Feb. 16, 2016).
MONARREZ YESAKI NAMED THE AMERICAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK (3/7/2017)
SMU freshman
Sarai Monarrez Yesaki was named the American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week. The Monterrey, Mexico, native earns her first conference honor after going a combined 3-1 in singles and doubles play, while leading the Mustangs to a 2-0 record last week against UCF and Arizona.
ORACLE/ITA DIVISION I RANKINGS
Women's National Team
Administered by the ITA
(as of April 18, 2017)
| Rank |
Avg |
School |
Previous |
| 1 |
83.71 |
Florida |
1 |
| 2 |
70.80 |
Vanderbilt |
5 |
| 3 |
69.46 |
North Carolina |
3 |
| 4 |
68.96 |
Georgia |
2 |
| 5 |
68.04 |
Ohio State |
4 |
| 6 |
61.81 |
Georgia Tech |
6 |
| 7 |
56.92 |
Texas Tech |
7 |
| 8 |
54.66 |
Stanford |
10 |
| 9 |
52.97 |
Oklahoma State |
8 |
| 10 |
52.32 |
Michigan |
9 |
| 11 |
49.20 |
South Carolina |
12 |
| 12 |
47.69 |
Auburn |
11 |
| 13 |
47.19 |
Pepperdine |
17 |
| 14 |
45.60 |
Arkansas |
18 |
| 15 |
45.60 |
Duke |
14 |
| 16 |
45.44 |
California |
16 |
| 17 |
44.95 |
Texas A&M |
21 |
| 18 |
44.46 |
Baylor |
15 |
| 19 |
43.36 |
Kentucky |
13 |
| 20 |
41.38 |
Mississippi State |
20 |
| 21 |
34.82 |
LSU |
19 |
| 22 |
34.19 |
UCLA |
22 |
| 23 |
32.56 |
Tennessee |
23 |
| 24 |
30.47 |
TCU |
31 |
| 25 |
27.98 |
Texas |
24 |
| 26 |
27.02 |
Arizona State |
29 |
| 27 |
25.23 |
Kansas |
30 |
| 28 |
25.18 |
North Carolina State |
25 |
| 29 |
24.65 |
Mississippi |
27 |
| 30 |
23.39 |
Wake Forest |
26 |
| 31 |
23.36 |
Washington |
32 |
| 32 |
23.21 |
Southern California |
39 |
| 33 |
22.87 |
Notre Dame |
28 |
| 34 |
21.25 |
Tulsa |
38 |
| 35 |
20.13 |
Alabama |
33 |
| 36 |
18.90 |
Northwestern |
36 |
| 37 |
18.57 |
Rice |
35 |
| 38 |
18.22 |
Oklahoma |
34 |
| 39 |
17.98 |
Miami |
45 |
| 40 |
17.83 |
Oregon |
42 |
| 41 |
17.33 |
FIU |
37 |
| 42 |
17.07 |
Florida State |
47 |
| 43 |
16.75 |
Virginia |
40 |
| 44 |
16.33 |
Dartmouth |
48 |
| 45 |
16.29 |
Denver |
41 |
| 46 |
14.26 |
Missouri |
NR |
| 47 |
14.05 |
Clemson |
46 |
| 48 |
13.34 |
UC Santa Barbara |
NR |
| 49 |
12.85 |
Harvard |
49 |
| 50 |
12.58 |
William and Mary |
50 |
|
2017 OUTLOOK:
SMU is 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.
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.
2017 American Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Championship Schedule
USTA National Campus – Orlando, Fla.
Wednesday, April 19 - First Round
Match 1 - No. 8 USF vs. No. 10 Temple - 9 a.m. ET/8 a.m. CT (Courts 1-6)
Match 2 - No. 6 East Carolina vs. No. 11 Connecticut - Noon ET/11 a.m. CT (Courts 7-12)
Match 3 - No. 8 UCF vs. No. 9 Houston - Noon ET/11 a.m. CT (Courts 1-6)
Thursday, April 20 - Quarterfinals
Match 4 - No. 1 Tulsa vs. Winner of Match 3 - Noon ET/11 a.m. CT (Courts 1-6)
Match 5
- No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 5 Memphis - Noon ET/11 a.m. CT (Courts 7-12)
Match 6 - No. 3 SMU vs. Winner of Match 2 - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
Match 7 - No. 2 Tulane vs. Winner of Match 1 - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
Friday, April 21 - Semifinals
Match 8 - Winner of Match 4 vs. Winner of Match 5 - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT (Courts 1-6)
Match 9 - Winner of Match 6 vs. Winner of Match 7 - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT (Courts 7-12)
Saturday, April 22 - Final
Match 10 - Winner of Match 8 vs. Winner of Match 9 - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT (Courts 1-6)
