Live Stats
DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's tennis team (0-1) welcomes Tyler Junior College (0-0) and Abilene Christian (1-1) on Friday, Jan. 26, for a doubleheader at the SMU Tennis Complex.
The Mustangs return to the court after losing 5-2 to Wichita State (2-0) last weekend. SMU earned wins in No. 3 and No. 5 singles, with
Anzhelika Shapovalova defeating Gabriela Porubin of Wichita State, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and
Sarai Monarrez Yesaki defating Wichita State's Sarvi Saidhujaeva in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.
SCOUTING TYLER JUNIOR COLLEGE
The Apaches begin their season on Friday against SMU after completing a perfect 21-0 season in 2016-17.
An impressive eight players from Tyler Junior College are ranked in the ITA NJCAA Singles Rankings: No. 1 Tamara Arnold, No. 2 Kalani Soli, No. 6 Maria Genovese, No. 10 Yuna Ito, No. 17 Oceane Garibal, No. 26 Millie Khoury, and No. 29 Mekeila Erspamer. Three Apache duos are ranked in doubles: No. 1 Arnold/Soli, No. 2 Genovese/Ito and No. 12 Garabel/Erspamer.
Genovese and Arnold led the Apaches in the fall at the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational, where each player advanced to the finals to face the other. Arnold defeated Genovese 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 to claim the title.
SCOUTING ABILENE CHRISTIAN
The Wildcats come to Dallas with a 1-1 record. ACU defeated Oral Roberts, 4-0, to open the season, but fell to No. 16 Oklahoma State, 6-1, on the same day.
Wildcat freshman Nini Memishishi stood out in both matches, earning the team's sole singles victory against Oklahoma State and picking up a second singles victory against Oral Roberts. The combination of Memishishi and Lucile Pothier earned an easy 6-0 finish over Oral Roberts in doubles. The Wildcats finished 17-6 overall and 8-3 in the Southland Conference in 2016-17.
SERIES INFO
SMU is 2-0 all-time against Tyler Junior College, with both wins coming at home. In the schools' first meeting on Feb. 13, 1997, SMU routed the Apaches to a 7-2 victory. The teams met again in 2009, when the Mustangs swept Tyler Junior College 4-0.
The Mustangs are much more familiar with Abilene Christian as an opponent, but are equally as dominant against the Wildcats. SMU holds a perfect 10-0 against ACU dating back to the teams' first meeting in 1999. All ten victories have come at home, including last season's 6-1 win over ACU at the SMU Tennis Complex.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs opened their dual match season against Wichita State (2-0) on Saturday, Jan. 20, at the SMU Tennis Complex. SMU lost 5-2, earning victories in only No. 3 and No. 5 singles.
Wichita State started off strong in doubles play, with No. 23-ranked doubles pair Gabriela Porubin and Fatima Bizhukova defeating
Sarai Monarrez Yesaki and
Ana Perez-Lopez, 6-2. The Shockers clinched the doubles point with a second win by Wichita State's Marta Bellucco/Sandra Honigova over
Nicole Petchey/
Anzhelika Shapovalova.
Sarai Monarrez Yesaki brought SMU its first point in singles play with a win over Wichita State's Sarvi Saidhujaeva in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. The Shockers answered with two singles victories of their own, with Marta Belluco defeating
Nicole Petchey (6-4, 6-3) and Sandra Honigova defeating
Ana Perez-Lopez (6-1, 7-5).
The Mustangs countered again when
Anzhelika Shapovalova defeated Wichita State's Gabriela Porubin, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. The Shockers clinched the match on the remaining two matches, with
Liza Buss falling to Fatima Bizhukova (5-7, 6-2, 6-4) and
Karina Traxler losing to Giulia Guidetti (6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-0).
LOOKING AHEAD
SMU continues its homestand next weekend with matches against Texas A&M - Corpus Christi on Friday, Feb. 3, at 12 p.m. and Iowa on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 12 p.m.
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, Instagram at @SMUWomensTennis and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SMUTennisW. Follow SMU Athletics on Twitter at @SMUMustangs or Instagram at SMU.Mustangs.
