DALLAS (SMU) – SMU Men's Tennis is set to open its season against No. 7 Mississippi State and Lamar at Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex on Saturday.

"Always an exciting energy in the building for home matches, season openers and competition against ranked team—and on Saturday, we get to do all three," said Head Coach Grant Chen.

"To open up (the season) against No. 7 Mississippi State and Lamar is going to be electric. Training camp has gone well and the Mustangs are eager to get the 2026 spring campaign started. No better place to be than on The Hilltop!"

Season Opener

• The last time SMU opened the season against a ranked opponent was in 2016 at No. 12 UCLA. Grant Chen was the associate head coach for the Bruins that season.
• SMU has swept nine consecutive season opener matches.

Matchup History

• This will be the first time SMU and Mississippi State meet in a non-neutral site. The all-time record between the teams is 2-2.
• The last time SMU faced the Bulldogs was in 2023 at the ITA Kickoff; the Mustangs fell in a tight 4-3 match.
• Svajda defeated Mississippi State's No. 13-ranked Petar Jovanovic in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Singles Championship last fall.
• SMU is 11-0 against Lamar all-time. The Mustangs faced the Cardinals at home in 2021, winning the match 4-1.

Servin' Svajda

• In the fall, Svajda defeated seven players ranked in the final ITA Fall Singles rankings.
• He has wins over Texas A&M's No. 112 Khololwam Montsi, Baylor's No. 17 Connor Henry Van Scharlkwyk, Florida's No. 31 Jeremy Jin, Auburn's No. 40 Amirkhamza Nasridinov, Illlinois's No. 10 Kenta Miyoshi, Mississippi State's No. 13 Petar Jovanovic and NC State's No. 9 Martin Borisiouk.
• Became the first Mustang to reach the championship match since Richey Reneberg in 1986. He fell in the final match 4-6, 6-1, 2-6 to defending champion No. 1 Michael Zheng after defeating NC State's Martin Borisiouk 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinal round of the tournament. Svajda defeated Mississippi State's Petar Johanovic 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals to become the first Mustang to reach the semifinals—also the first Mustang since Reneberg in 1986.

New Faces

• SMU welcomed two transfers and one freshman prior to the fall season.
• Krish Arora came to the Hilltop after spending two years at Georgia Tech. The junior posted a 29-24 singles record as a Yellow Jacket. Arora was ranked as high as No. 19 in the ITA doubles rankings with Clement. Notably, he competed in the 2024 US Junior US Open.
• Matthew Faraci hails from Manakin Sabot, Virginia. Faraci is a two-time VISAA Player of the Year and was named All-Metro Richmond Player of the Year this past season. He was undefeated in his two final high school seasons.
• Alex Finkelstein joined the Mustangs after three years at Brown. Prior to Brown, the Raynham, Massachusetts, native played his freshman year at Columbia. Played as Brown's No. 1 singles player, posting an overall record of 17-10 and a 15-8 record in dual match play. He is ranked No. 123 in the final ITA singles rankings and was ranked as high as No. 115 on April 15, 2025. Ended the 2024-25 season as the No. 6 Singles performer in the New England Region by the ITA.

Kids Clinic by Coach Kelcy McKenna

• SMU Women's Tennis and Head Coach Kelcy McKenna will be hosting a kids clinic prior to the start of the Mississippi State match at 9-10 am on the outdoor courts.

Parking Information

• Spectator parking is available at Meadows Garage.