#32 SMU (10-5, 4-4 ACC) at Louisville (9-6, 1-6 ACC)    
Friday, March 20 • 1 p.m. CT          
Louisville, Ky. • Bass-Rudd Tennis Center 
Watch • Live Scores • SMU Mobile App          
 
#32 SMU (10-5, 4-4 ACC) at #52 Notre Dame (12-6, 2-5 ACC)   
Sunday, March 22 • 12:30 p.m. CT          
South Bend. Ind. • ECK Tennis Pavilion  
Watch • Live Scores • SMU Mobile App  
 
SETTING THE SCENE         
• The No. 32-ranked SMU women's tennis team heads to Louisville and Notre Dame for its final ACC road trip of the 2026 dual season on Friday and Sunday, respectively.  
• The Mustangs split their two matches last weekend, defeating Wake Forest 4-3 before falling to No. 14 NC State 4-1 in Dallas.  
• SMU looks to beat Louisville for the fifth straight time and the second straight season, while the Mustangs aim to collect their first win over Notre Dame.

DEACONS DISMISSED 
• The SMU women's tennis team held off a strong comeback effort by Wake Forest (8-9, 1-5 ACC), winning 4-3 with a clinch by junior Natalie Stasny on court five on Friday.     
The win was the Mustangs' 10th of the season, as they improved to 10-4 and 4-3 in ACC action. It was also the third straight win for SMU and the fifth at home.      
• Sophie Llewellyn and Stasny clinched the Mustangs' 13th doubles point this season with a 6-4 win on court two. The tandem improved to 9-2 together and has won three straight decisions with the win.     
• No. 59 Sophie Llewellyn put the Mustangs right back in front with a controlling 6-3, 6-2 win on court two over Krystal Blanch of Wake Forest. Caroline McGinley extended the Mustangs' lead with her ninth win of the spring, defeating Kady Tannenbaum of Wake Forest 6-2, 6-4. 
• The Deamon began their comeback efforts, starting with an upset win on court one. Nevena Carton of Wake Forest fought back from down 5-3 in the third set to win the frame 7-5 and the match 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.  Wake Forest saw another court go their way at position four in a battle of Houston natives. Evie Oxford got the best of Ellie Mireles in the showdown, despite an opening set victory for Mireles. Oxford won the match 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 to force a winner-takes-all court five decision.    
• All the attention turned to court five, where the score was 3-3 in set three. Natalie Stasny cruised from that point forward, winning three straight games to claim a 6-3, 6(4)-7, 6-3 victory and clinch the match for SMU.     

ACC WEEKLY AWARD 
• The SMU women's tennis team has earned six ACC weekly honors in 2026, led by Amelie Van Impe, who has earned ACC Freshman of the Week twice and Player of the Week once.  
• Caroline McGinley was the latest Mustang to earn ACC honors, earning ACC Player of the Week on March 10. 
• Van Impe and McGinley have also earned Doubles Team of the Week twice this season.  
• On March 10, SMU swept the ACC Weekly honors, winning the Doubles Team, Player and Freshman of the Week. It marked the second time in two seasons that the program has done that.  
 
MAKING NATIONAL NOISE    
• Wichelen, Belgium, native, Amelie Van Impe made national noise on March 1 in the Mustangs' matchup against No. 3 North Carolina with a commanding win over the then-No. 1-ranked player in the ITA, Reese Brantmeier, 6-1, 6-2. The win came after nearly defeating the No. 22–ranked player from Duke on court one two days prior, in a match that went unfinished despite her 7-5, 2-6, 5-4 lead.        
• The win propelled Van Impe from unranked to No. 49 in the latest ITA singles poll.    
• Van Impe has been strong since joining the Mustangs in late January. The freshman is a combined 16-1 on the season in doubles and singles, with a 5-0 record in court one and a perfect 10-0 record in doubles.  
 
NEW NUMBERS, ITA RANKINGS    
• The SMU court one doubles team of Caroline McGinley and Amelie Van Impe stayed at No. 10 nationally this week, despite falling for the first time this season, the No.-2 ranked pair of Victoria Osuigwe and Gabriella Broadfoot from NC State on Sunday.  
• The duo is a perfect 11-1 this season, while Caroline McGinley is 14-1 in doubles this spring.      
• In singles, Sophie Llewellyn leads the Mustangs at No. 61, while Van Impe moved to No. 63 in the latest rankings.  
• Caroline McGinley and Ellie Mireles remain ranked as a pair in doubles, despite not playing as a pair since the second weekend of the season. They come in at No. 56 this week.  
 
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS   
• Louisville brings a 9-6 record into the weekend with a 1-6 record in ACC matches. The Cardinals' only win against a conference opponent so far came in a 4-3 decision at home against Florida State.  
• SMU is 6-1 against Louisville all-time, winning each of the last four matches. The Mustangs are 2-0 against the Cardinals in Louisville.  
• Notre Dame is 12-6 overall and 2-5 in ACC matches this season. The Fighting Irish's two conference wins have come against Florida State and Louisville.  
• The Mustangs are looking for their first win over Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish lead the overall series 2-0. It will be the program's first trip to South Bend, as the previous two matches have been in Dallas.    
 
HISTORIC WIN IN WACO      
• On Feb. 1, SMU collected a 4-3 win over Baylor in Waco. It marked the first win over the Bears since 1995.          
• Gina Feistel clinched the winner-take-all final match of the day on court one with a 7-6(3), 0-6, 7-6(4) win over No. 40 Na Dong of Baylor.         
• SMU won the doubles point for the fifth time this season and got two wins from courts five and six from Caroline McGinley and Natalie Stasny to help secure the victory.         
 
LLEWELLYN ADVANCES IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS         
• In her NCAA Championship debut, 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 eight 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 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 a 2024 Women's ITA All-American Singles Championship, becoming 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.