By Alex Riley
Special to SMUMustangs.com
 
DALLAS – When he arrived in Dallas back in July, Jeff Nevolo's first order of business was to get the SMU women's tennis team believing in a set of values and standards that he was bringing to the program. If that happened, he knew he could create a positive culture, both in the locker room and on the court.

But even he admits that an undefeated start to the 2020 spring season isn't something he envisioned.
 
"It's been beyond our wildest dreams how this team has bought in. And I think that's freeing them up to play pretty well," Nevolo said.
 
The Mustangs (6-0) take their unblemished record on the road this weekend with a pair of contests in Louisiana. SMU faces LSU (4-2) at noon on Saturday and Tulane (6-2) at noon on Sunday.
 
The six straight season-opening wins are the most since SMU began the 2016-17 campaign 6-0. This weekend's road trip marks just the second and third tests away from home this season. The Mustangs opened the year at Abilene Christian back on Jan. 19.
 
Toughness, enthusiasm, discipline and selflessness are some of the core values Nevolo has reinforced with a relatively young SMU roster this season. The Mustangs have just two seniors with four juniors, a sophomore and three freshmen all playing big roles. Of the three individuals who are still undefeated, two are freshmen (Isabella Tcherkes Zade, 6-0, and Jackie Nylander, 6-0). As a group, SMU is 30-6 in singles play and 13-4 in doubles.
 
While some of the youth is shining on the court, senior captains Tiffany Hollebeck and Sarai Monarrez Yesaki have been tasked with being vocal in the locker room. They've worked with volunteer assistant Alexis Casati on leadership skills and how to help the team come together.
 
"We challenged them early in the year to kind of trust the coaching staff and help us spread our message to the team, so they've kind of been our vocal leaders. But everybody on the team is leading in their own way right now. We've got a lot of kids that are leading by example," Nevolo said. "Our captains are really doing a great job, but I feel like everyone is super invested. It's a good problem to have."
 
That leadership is about to be tested as this weekend's road trip will provide a good measuring stick for where the team stands.
 
Nevolo's message has been simple – focus on the standards that have been set and the external pressure of playing on the road will take care of itself. It's another chance to learn. And so far, the Mustangs have embraced the education.
 
"I think the team feels confident that they can be successful and, whatever that definition is, I guess we'll figure out," Nevolo said. "We're just excited we've got another match against a couple good teams and we'll learn as we go."