DALLAS (SMU) – From Sophie Llewellyn's perspective, a trip to Fort Worth in the fall changed everything. 

The college women's tennis season is divided into two parts. During the first semester, the schedule focuses more on individual competition, with players taking part in solo or doubles events on their own. In the spring, the attention turns to team-oriented match play, with everyone at the same site battling a common opponent. 

The TCU Jae Foundation Fall Open back in early November was almost an exception to the rule, as everyone on the SMU women's roster was at the same place playing together. 

"I feel like that's where the growth really happened because we were all there pushing each other, cheering everybody on in their matches, playing doubles together, everything. I think that's what really taught us how to operate more as a team," the freshman from Tarpon Springs, Fla., said. 
As the spring season officially gets underway Sunday with a home match against Abilene Christian at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex, the Mustangs are looking to continue developing that cohesion. 

The SMU roster features five new players, with three true freshmen and two transfers joining the program. That turnover left coach Jeff Nevolo wondering how things would come together. 

Thankfully, the returning talent expedited the building process. 

Players credit the work of veterans Drew Morris and Caroline McGinley for getting everyone together during the preseason to develop chemistry. Even though much of the fall saw people pulled in separate directions for events across the country, they came back together for practice, team outings and eventually competition on the same site. 

"They've been a really invested group. We started putting ourselves in some bigger winning situations later in the fall and we've just got to keep getting better in those moments," Nevolo said, noting an Oct. 1 meeting to discuss the team standard was a big jumping off point. "From that day forward, I think we got better every day. I think the growth in a lot of them was huge."

That development is going to be crucial as the Mustangs look to navigate uncharted territory this spring. The non-conference schedule features some high-level foes, including SEC opponents Vanderbilt and Arkansas, before jumping into ACC play. The preseason ITA Women's Tennis Poll features eight ACC programs. 
It's a step up in competition with a reconstructed roster that will be tested. But, even as new faces like grad transfer Arianna Stavropoulos come in, there's camaraderie that has put everyone at ease and allowed them to focus on one goal – winning. 

"We have just put our heads down and worked hard. We have great team chemistry already. It was supernatural," Stavropoulos said. "We have a championship mentality. They won the league the last two years, and I don't think that expectation drops at all. I think that's our goal still. We have a really talented group of girls that are really hard working and we're just super excited to start competing."