No. 32 SMU (16-8) vs No. 42 Baylor (16-13)
Mitchell Tennis Center – College Station, Texas
10 a.m. | Friday, May 5
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (SMU)- The No. 32 SMU women's tennis will begin their 2023 NCAA tournament journey against the No. 42 ranked Baylor on Friday at 10 a.m. The first-round match will be played in College Station, as the No. 2 Texas A&M hosts the regional round at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The winner gets either Quinnipiac or the No. 2 seed Texas A&M in the second round on May 6 at 1 p.m. Tickets for the weekend can be purchased here.

The Mustangs earned an automatic bid after winning their first American Athletic Conference Championship. SMU became the first team in tournament history to win all of its singles matches in straight sets without dropping a doubles set all tournament. The Mustangs became only the second team in tournament history to not allow a team point in the tournament. SMU commenced its run in the tournament with a respective 4-0 sweep against the No. 9 seed Tulsa on Apr. 20. The Mustangs then skunked the No. 4 seed Tulsa on Apr. 21 to secure their spot in the finals. The No. 1 seed Mustangs conquered the No. 2 seed UCF 4-0 on Apr. 22 at the USTA National Campus capping the most dominate performance in the tournament's nine-year history.

In the final batch of ITA rankings, SMU moved three spots to the No. 32 ranked team in the nation. Hadley Doyle is the lone Mustangs in the ITA singles rankings as she is the No. 88 singles player. Taylor Johnson and Jackie Nylander are the No. 86 ranked doubles duo in the nation.

The No. 42 Baylor Bears earn their 24^th NCAA postseason appearance. Baylor is 38-19 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears' selection is the third-straight for the program after missing the tournament in 2019. Last season, the Bears drew Washington in the opening round and took down the Huskies, 4-2, before falling to regional-host Texas A&M, 4-1. 
 
INSIDE THE MATCH
Saturday will spell a second meeting in 2023 as the Mustangs and Bears have met once this year as Baylor got the 4-1 win over SMU on Apr. 10. The Mustangs dropped the doubles point before Baylor won three singles matches, clinching the win. Taylor Johnson extended her win streak to five in a row as she recorded the lone SMU point winning on Court 2.

Since that match, the Mustangs have won their past five matches.

Should the Mustangs win their first-round match, they would meet either Quinnipiac for the first time in program history or the No. 2 seed Texas A&M for the sixth time in program history. A win over the Aggies would make SMU's highest ranked win throughout the season.
 
MUSTANG MARK
No. 88- ranked Hadley Doyle was named the AAC Women's Player of the Week (Apr. 18). Doyle led SMU to a pair of wins against nationally ranked teams to help the Mustangs earn the top seed for the American Athletic Conference Championship. Doyle was also named the AAC Women's Player of the Week on Feb. 15 after defeating the nation's No. 56-ranked player in three sets. Doyle went 2-0 in singles play throughout the AAC Championship. Doyle takes a 11-3 dual-match record into the tournament.

Graduate student, Taylor Johnson is coming off being named the AAC Championship Most Outstanding Performer of the tournament. Johnson went undefeated throughout the tournament in both singles and doubles play. Johnson earned the AAC Women's Player of the Week (Apr. 11) for the first time in her career. Johnson extends her win streak to nine straight as she improved to 12-4 in dual matches in the 2023 spring season.

Drew Morris, was the AAC Women's Player of the Week (Apr. 4) for the second time this season. Morris led SMU to a AAC title as she earned the second point of the 4-0 sweep against UCF in the finals of the AAC Championship. Morris improved to 15-3 in dual matches in the spring season and leads the team in most victories. Morris was also named AAC Women's Tennis Player of the Week on Jan. 24. Since fall 2022, Morris is 28-8 in singles action.

Jackie Nylander earned her seventh match-clincher of the spring season. Nylander got the Mustangs their shutout over Tulsa in the semifinals of the AAC Championship as she won in straight sets on Court 4. Nylander got her second match-clincher of the tournament as she cruised by in a straight set victory against UCF on Court 4. After a 21-ball rally on match point, Nylander got her shot with a short forehand winner clinching the match and title for the Mustangs.
 
Lana Mavor holds a 12-3 record throughout the 2023 season. Mavor has clinched the match in six of SMU's victories (Incarnate Word, VCU, USF, Richmond, Denver and San Diego). Mavor picked up the second and final point for the Mustangs against then No. 23 ASU in three sets victory on Court 6. Mavor picked up the Mustangs second point against then No. 1 Texas with a straight set victory at No. 6. The senior has gone 25-7 in singles play in the 2022-23 season.

Building an early lead in doubles has been a near-certain pathway to victory. With the current pairings of Jackie Nylander and Maja Makoric on Court 1 (3-4), Taylor Johnson and Lana Mavor on Court 2 (5-0) and Hadley Doyle and Drew Morris on Court 3 (3-1) the Mustangs have won five consecutive matches when claiming the first completed doubles set.

SMU IN THE ITA RANKINGS
ITA Team Rankings (April 25 ranking)

32 SMU

Women's Singles (April 25 ranking)

88 Hadley Doyle

Women's Doubles (April 25 ranking)

76 Taylor Johnson/ Jackie Nylander

ITA Team Rankings (April 18 ranking)

35 SMU

Women's Singles (April 18 ranking)

80 Hadley Doyle

Women's Doubles (April 18 ranking)

70 Taylor Johnson/ Jackie Nylander

ITA Team Rankings (April 11 ranking)

47 SMU

Women's Singles (April 11 ranking)

123 Hadley Doyle

Women's Doubles (April 11 ranking)

70 Taylor Johnson/ Jackie Nylander

ITA Team Rankings (April 4 ranking)

54 SMU

Women's Singles (April 4 ranking)

120 Hadley Doyle

Women's Doubles (April 4 ranking)

56 Taylor Johnson/ Jackie Nylander

ITA Team Rankings (March 28 ranking)

56 SMU

ITA Team Rankings (March 21 ranking)

62 SMU

Women's Singles (March 21 ranking)

112 Hadley Doyle

Women's Doubles (March 21 ranking)

37 Taylor Johnson/ Jackie Nylander

ITA Team Rankings (March 14 ranking)
 
69 SMU
 
ITA Team Rankings (March 7 ranking)
 
59 SMU
 
Women's Singles (March 7 ranking)
 
98 Hadley Doyle SMU
 
Women's Doubles (March 7 ranking)
 
28 Taylor Johnson/ Jackie Nylander SMU
 
ITA Team Rankings (February 28 ranking)
 
48 SMU
 
ITA Team Rankings (February 21 ranking)

44 SMU

Women's Singles (February 21 ranking)

89 Hadley Doyle SMU

Women's Doubles (February 21 ranking)

24 Taylor Johnson/Jackie Nylander SMU

Women's Singles (November 16 ranking)
 
113 Hadley Doyle SMU
 
Women's Doubles (November 16 ranking)
 
32 Taylor Johnson/Jackie Nylander SMU
 
38 Winslow Huth/Lana Mavor SMU