DALLAS (SMU) – At this time last year, SMU Men's Tennis was in a very different place.
During their first season of competition in the ACC, the Mustangs settled for a 15-19 overall record, the program's first losing season since 2019. The program missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons.
A year later, the Mustangs have used those difficulties as the building blocks for where they stand today, earning a No. 7 seed in the league and finishing the regular season with a 19-10 record, including two top 25 wins.
"I think the first year in the ACC last year was obviously just super tough, but I feel like we've done a great job to just come back from that and bounce back," sophomore Noah McDonald said. "I feel like the mindset of everyone coming into this year was super positive. We had a few new guys joining our team, which I think have just been great additions, and I think our culture was really good this year. We have two great captains, and I think it starts from the top and works its way down."
SMU enters the 2026 ACC Championships in Cary, N.C., as the No. 7 seed in the league, earning a first-round bye. The Mustangs (19-10 overall, 8-5 ACC) will get the winner of Wednesday's match between No. 15 seed Georgia Tech and No. 10 seed California in the second round at 11:30 a.m. CT on Thursday. A win would move them into the quarterfinals against No. 2 seed Virginia on Friday.
The success this season is the direct result of lessons learned and a refocused mindset for the 2025-26 campaign.
From the outset, coach Grant Chen wanted to challenge his team, creating a schedule that made them battle-tested. The spring slate opened with No. 7 Mississippi State team, followed shortly by No. 4 TCU and a trio top 25 programs on consecutive days during the ITA Team Indoor Championship, including No. 2 Ohio State.
"One thing we really tried to make an effort was to stay present as a team, to embrace whatever we're doing that day and not worrying about yesterday or tomorrow and just kind of putting our best foot forward – and I think it showed," Chen said. "Whether we've been up or down and matches, we've stayed present and stayed very composed. No one panics and no one shifts from the plan. Everybody just keeps on competing. It's been reflected quite a few times this season."
Against the second-ranked Ohio State, the Mustangs lost 4-3, but it came down to the final match, moving to a third set and behind, decided by a tiebreaker.
Those little moments of growth continued throughout the season as the Mustangs finished the schedule with four wins in their final five matches, climbing to No. 34 in the latest ITA Division I Men's College Tennis Rankings.
Chen called SMU's progress a collaborative effort, one where everyone bought into the mantra of being present for the moment at hand. They plan to draw on those lessons once their opponent is set for Thursday's match and hopefully beyond.
SMU beat both Georgia Tech (4-2) and California (4-3) during the regular season. If the Mustangs were to advance to the quarterfinals, they did push Virginia in a 4-2 loss earlier this season. The Cavaliers have only lost three times all season and SMU is one of only four teams to score multiple points against them in a match this year.
The Mustangs have proven they can contend with the best all season. Now, they have the opportunity to do it again.
"We've been toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the country. I think we're in a great spot. I think we're going to look back and reflect on what worked in those matches and use that this week," McDonald said.
