THE MATCHUP  
• After opening the spring season with two wins at home against Air Force and Abilene Christian, SMU women's tennis travels to face Wichita State (1-1) for its first road test of the season.    
• SMU is 7-6 all-time against Wichita State and are winners of the last five meetings between the two programs.   
• The Mustangs and Shockers last battled on April 5 of last season, where SMU won 4-1 in Dallas. 
• SMU looks to start 3-0 for the first time since the 2022 season.  
  
MUSTANGS START 2-0  
• The Mustangs started off the 2026 spring season strong with two decisive victories on Friday, Jan. 16, defeating Air Force and Abilene Christian in 6-1 decisions.   
• Coach Kelcy McKenna collected her first two wins as head coach on the Hilltop.   
• Ellie Mireles and Caroline McGinley led a perfect 4-0 day in doubles for SMU with two wins on court one.   
• In singles, Sophie Llewellyn, McGinley, Natalie Stasny, and Addison Comiskey went 2-0 in their matchups on Friday.   
• Comiskey, Eliana Kook, Ellie Mireles, and Stasny each secured their first singles victories in dual match play as Mustangs.    
• SMU has won its last two season openers. The program improved to 2-1 against Air Force and 19-0 against Abilene Christian.  
  
ITA RANKINGS  
• After strong fall seasons for sophomore Sophie Llewellyn and freshman Ellie Mireles, they represent SMU in the preseason ITA rankings.  
• Llewellyn starts the year ranked No. 46, the highest ranking of the year for the sophomore from Florida.   
• Freshman from Houston, Texas, Mireles begins her first dual match season ranked No. 106.   
  
LLEWELLYN ADVANCES IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS  
• In her NCAA Championship debut, Sophie Llewellyn advanced to the second round of the tournament by defeating Texas A&M's Violeta Martinez 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, before falling to eventual champion Reese Brantmeier in three sets in her next matchup.   
• Llewellyn punched her ticket to the NCAA Singles Championships in November after reaching the semifinal round of the ITA Sectional Championships on Saturday.    
• Llewellyn became the first Mustang to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships since Marta Lesniak did so in 2011.   
• Llewellyn finished the fall season with a 10-4 record    
  
NEW LOOK MUSTANGS  
• Coach McKenna and staff brought six newcomers to the 2026 roster, including four true freshmen and one transfer ahead of her first season on the Hilltop.  
• Llewellyn and McGinley are the only two returners to the program from the previous season.   
  
LET THE MCKENNA ERA BEGIN  
• Coach Kelcy McKenna begins her tenure at SMU after serving as the head coach at Wisconsin since 2017.   
• McKenna's tenure at Wisconsin was defined by a dramatic program turnaround. When she arrived in the fall of 2016, the Badgers were coming off a 4-16 season and a winless Big Ten campaign. In her second year, Wisconsin began to show progress, and by her third season in 2018-19, the team posted an 18-6 record, finished second in the Big Ten at 9-2, and earned its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005.   
• By 2023, the Badgers had achieved one of the best seasons in school history: 20 victories (first in 25 years), a No. 11 national ranking at their peak (highest since 1996), and a season-ending No. 22 ITA ranking, along with the program's first NCAA Tournament win since 2002. Under McKenna's leadership, Wisconsin evolved from the bottom of the Big Ten into a nationally respected contender, consistently competing against and defeating top-25 programs.  
• Over the last three seasons, McKenna has led the Badgers to a record of 58-21, including three straight NCAA Round of 32 appearances. Last season, McKenna coached Maria Sholokhova to the 2024 Women's ITA All-American Singles Championship, making Sholokhova the program's first All-American since 1998 in 2025.  
• McKenna and Sholokhova became the first coach-player duo, men's or women's, to both win the ITA All-American Singles Championship.