SMU vs. No. 24 Baylor
Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center – Waco, Texas
February 18, 2022 – 12 p.m.
SMU vs. Mississippi State
February 19, 2022 – 12 p.m.
Baylor | Mississippi State | American
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The SMU women's tennis team completes its four-week, six-opponent road trip in doubleheader fashion as it travels to Waco for a Friday match against the No. 24 Baylor Bears, followed by a Saturday noon matchup against Mississippi State.

SMU
The Mustangs (4-2, 1-0 AAC) enter Friday's match following a Sunday 4-3 win at South Florida. The win marked the Mustang's second-straight against the Bulls, and opened SMU to a 1-0 start against AAC opponents this spring.

Graduate senior Claudia Bartolome leads the way for the Mustangs through SMU's first six matches. On line five, Bartolome maintains a team-high 4-1 singles record, which includes a win over an undefeated opponent at No. 8 Texas A&M. In doubles, Bartolome totals 4-2 on the season – 2-0 with freshman partner Drew Morris, and 2-2 with 2021 all-conference selection Jackie Nylander.

On line one, Lexi Keberle owns a 3-2 singles dual record. Keberle opened the spring season 3-0 with respective wins against UTSA ACU, and Rice. The graduate senior is 3-1 in dual doubles play, sporting a 2-0 record with senior Katherine Jakeway, and 1-1 with junior Lana Mavor.

Following a 6-0, 6-1 win for Nicole Petchey on court six, Petchey's dual season record improves to 2-1. The graduate senior has played in all six matches of the spring season to date, but has ended unfinished in three of the six.

Mavor improved her dual singles record to 2-2 following her first straight-set win of the Mustangs' dual campaign at South Florida. Her first win of the season was a match-clinching victory versus Rice, in which she took a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 win against the Owls.

Baylor
SMU enters Friday's match against Baylor seeking their first ranked win of the year. Baylor marks the Mustang's third ITA top-25-ranked opponent in as many weeks, and second Big XII opponent of the season.

No. 24 Baylor (4-3, 0-0 Big XII) opens Friday's competition the winner of its last three matches (TJC, Denver, Colorado), its last loss a 4-2 decision at No. 1 Texas on Feb. 2^nd. Baylor is 2-0 on the season on their home courts, their last home loss coming at the hands of No. 18 Duke in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Bears maintain a 21-12 advantage in the all-time series against SMU, and have not given up a loss to the Mustangs since 1995. Baylor's last loss to an AAC opponent was a 4-3 final against No. 20 UCF in Waco on March 10, 2020.

No. 2 Mel Krywoj and Alicia Herrero Linana are 5-0 in doubles to open dual play. Alina Shcherbinina and Paula Baranano are 6-1, and Anita Sahdiieva is 5-1 in spring singles action.

Mississippi State
The Bulldogs (6-1, 0-0 SEC) enter Saturday's outing versus SMU seeking its first road win of the spring season. The Bulldogs are winners of back-to-back matches, their last lost occurring at the hands of No. 3 Georgia in Athens, 4-1. Mississippi State opened its dual season 4-0 with respective wins over Jacksonville State (7-0), Memphis (4-1), Louisiana (7-0), and Iowa (4-1).

In Saturday's match, SMU holds a chance to take a 2-1 lead in the all-time record over Mississippi State. The two programs have not competed against one another since the 2006 season in which the Mustangs claimed a 5-2 win over the Bulldogs at home. The inaugural match between the two programs was an 8-1 win for Mississippi State in Starkville during the 1999 season.

The Bulldogs have yet to give up the doubles point in dual play this season. The No. 28-ranked duo of Magda Adaloglou/Chloe Cirotte are winners of eight consecutive, while senior doubles duo Emmanouela Antonaki/Tamara Racine have won six straight. Antonaki and junior Alexandra Mikhailuk are 3-0 when paired.

Cirotte, who plays on lines three and four for the Bulldogs, has won nine of her last ten singles matchups.

Mikhailuk is 3-0 on the season playing on court four for Mississippi State.

2020-21 Notes
SMU completed its 2020-21 season with 21 wins, the most since the 2011 season (23). The mark was good for the fourth-most wins in the nation, and a final national ranking of 45th.

The Mustangs won 12 of 14 doubles points to conclude its season, including a stretch of seven consecutive during a string of matches that included four ranked teams.

Doyle and Nylander proved a key-doubles pairing for SMU as the duo went 10-8 on the season, climbed as high as No. 30 nationally, and finished the regular season ranked 87th.

Bartolome and former Mustang Chandler Carter compiled a 13-1 record on court two in doubles, finishing their season with eight consecutive wins.

Nylander handled court one for SMU, amassing a 13-8 record and finishing the season with two top-100 wins and 6-1 against American Conference opponents.

Senior Nicole Petchey went 16-4 on the season, an effort that included a 12-1 stretch over the final 21 matches of the Mustangs' regular season.

Claudia Bartolome won 14 matches in her third season at SMU, including a four-match stretch against ranked opponents in which she claimed singles victory in each.
 
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