H-E-B Invitational & ITA All-American Championships
Fort Worth, TX & Cary, N.C.
Friday-Sunday, Sep. 20-22 | Saturday-Sunday Sept. 21-29
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DALLAS (SMU) – It's a year of change for SMU women's tennis.
After a veteran-heavy roster led the program last season, the Mustangs now feature a combined five underclassmen with five new faces in all. With the SMU joining the ACC over the summer, the upcoming spring schedule will feature a vastly new slate of opponents.
A lot might be different, but the focus remains the same.
"They're young, but they've had a great attitude. I think they've come back and they're really excited to be here," SMU women's tennis coach Jeff Nevolo said. "I think the work done by the previous classes the last five years has really set them up to be in a program that has high expectations and they're really embracing that."
The 2024-25 fall campaign begins this weekend as the Mustangs will be split between two locations. Caroline McGinley and Arianna Stavropoulos will head to Waco on Friday to take part in the H.E.B. Invitational at Baylor, while Sophie Llewellyn and Drew Morris will travel to Cary, N.C., for the ITA All-American Championships.
As part of a revamped college tennis schedule this season, fall tournaments will help determine who competes for the individual and doubles national championships before the first semester ends. Previously, the solo championships were decided following the team tournament in the spring.
Even though it's another change SMU is facing, Nevolo doesn't see it impacting his team's approach.
"Our goal right now is to have a culture of enthusiastic development," Nevolo said. "Everybody is going to get a chance to play at least one qualifying tournament for the NCAAs and we've just got to focus on getting better for the team season. If we do that, then we might have some good results individually."
While several of the standouts from the last few years have graduated, Nevolo is fortunate to have three returners who have helped maintain the previously set standards. Senior Drew Morris is back after earning 16 individual and 22 doubles wins last season. And, even though they are both just sophomores, Caroline McGinley and Millie Skelton saw extensive playing time last season, giving them plenty of experience to draw on.
Big West First-Team singles player Arianna Stavropoulos and a trio of freshmen will be asked to step up in the fall, while Texas A&M transfer Ellie Pittman will provide a boost when she officially joins the program this spring.
So far, Nevolo likes what he's seen from the group. Everyone has embraced the challenges of developing chemistry and navigating a whole new world together. It's that approach that he hopes will lead to success as the season unfolds.
"I think Drew, Caroline and Millie have been incredibly welcoming of our new players. In terms of day-to-day work ethic, they've set a tone but they've made it really easy for the newcomers to understand what the expectations are," Nevolo said. "That's why we're already seeing a lot of improvement from this group in a very short amount of time. The environment is going to yield a lot of your development and I think the environment is as strong as it's ever been."
