WACO, Texas (SMU) – The SMU women's tennis team took down Baylor (3-1) in a 4-3 thriller Sunday afternoon in Waco. The victory marks the program's first win over the Bears since 1995.
SMU jumped ahead in doubles with wins on courts one and three. Amelie Van Impe and Caroline McGinley improved to 2-0 this season with a 6-4 victory over Baylor's Na Dong and Zuzanna Kubacha, who came into the match ranked No. 61 in the latest ITA rankings. The win marked the second ranked win over a top-40 duo on court one for SMU this season.
After a Baylor win on court two, Sophie Llewellyn and Natalie Stasny continued their perfect start to the season with a 6-3 win on court three over Baylor's Mu-Jie Tzeng and Gabrielle Villegas to clinch the doubles point. They improved to 4-0 as a tandem to start the spring.
The Bears leveled the score with a win on court two to open singles; however, SMU got one back thanks to a resilient 7-5, 7-5 victory by Natalie Stasny on court five. Caroline McGinley then extended the Mustangs lead and improved to 3-0 in dual match play with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win on court four to put the Mustangs within one victory from a clinch. However, Baylor won two tightly contested matches on courts three and five to force a winner-take-all decision on court one.
In the final singles match of the day that went the distance, Gina Feistel clinched the victory for SMU in a singles match where she won two tiebreaker sets. Feistel improved to 2-0 as a Mustang with a 7-6(3), 0-6, 7-6(4) over No. 40 Na Dong.
NEXT UP:
The Mustangs return to action Friday, Feb. 6 at home against Grand Canyon starting at 1:30 p.m. CT.
RESULTS
SMU 4, Baylor 3
Doubles
1. Amelie Van Impe/Caroline McGinley (SMU) def. No. 61 Na Dong/Zuzanna Kubacha (BU) 6-4
2. Kennedy Gibbs/Alian Zack (BU) def. Gina Feistel/Ellie Mireles (SMU), 6-1
3. Sophie Llewellyn/Natalie Stasny (SMU) def. Mu-Jie Tzeng/Gabrielle Villegas (BU) 6-3
Singles
1. Gina Feistel (SMU) def. #40 Na Dong (BU) 7-6(3), 0-6, 7-6(4)
2. #57 Zuzanna Kubacha (BU) def. Amelie Van Impe (SMU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Kennedy Gibbs (BU) def. #46 Sophie Llewellyn (SMU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. Caroline McGinley (SMU) def. Alian Zack (BU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
5. #99 Mu-Jie Tzeng (BU) def. #106 Ellie Mireles 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(5)
6. Natalie Stasny (SMU) def. Gabrielle Villegas (BU), 7-5, 7-5
(Order of finish: Doubles 2, 3, 1 / Singles 2, 6, 4, 3, 5, 1)