SMU’s Georgiana Marta swings and hits the ball during the match against San Antonio. (Sarah Acosta)
It’s the Mustangs vs. the Horned Frogs in a battle for the Metroplex today as both SMU tennis teams face TCU. The men travel to Fort Worth, while the women host TCU at the Garland Tennis Center at 1 p.m.
The No. 55 SMU women’s team is 8-3 for the season with recent wins over New Mexico State and Furman. Senior Jennifer Chay will continue to lead the Mustang roster. Natalia Bubien is out with an injury and will not play against TCU. The junior missed Saturday’s match but is expected to return for the road trip to Houston this weekend.
Freshmen Claire Rietsch (10-1) and Pavi Francis (9-2) hold the best singles records on the team, with Rietsch dropping only one match against conference opponent Tulsa. Francis is currently on a six-match win streak in singles. She partners with Chay in doubles at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, recording seven wins and four losses total this season.
Kristen Reid and Monica Neveklovska hold a 4-2 record at No. 3 doubles and are on a three-match winning streak. Reid, who typically plays in the bottom two singles positions for SMU, is 6-4 overall this season. Last season, Reid went 13-5 at No. 4 singles and 12-10 in doubles with various partners.
Senior Georgiana Marta has moved between No. 4 and No. 5 singles this season with an overall record of 6-2. She and Francis had the only singles wins against Tulsa.
TCU, currently ranked No. 39, is 6-4 this season. The Horned Frogs have three ranked ITA players on their roster, as well as a Top 10 doubles team. TCU’s No. 1 singles player is Anna Sydorska, nationally ranked at No. 104. Teammates Ana Cetnik (No. 37) and Nina Munch-Soegaard (No. 84) play at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively. Sydorska and Cetnik comprise the No. 7 doubles team in ITA rankings.
The No. 65 SMU men take on the Frogs at TCU today. TCU is No. 66 in ITA standings and is currently on a four-match losing streak, making the team 1-4 for the season. SMU has two ranked players on its roster, Alex Skrypko at No. 43 and Federico Murgier at No. 125, while TCU has none.
The Mustangs have faced three consecutive Top 25 teams, and TCU will be the seventh Top 70 team they meet this season. SMU holds a 4-5 record with wins over Illinois State and Iowa University. The Mustangs’ only losses this season have come from Top 25 teams.
Leading the SMU men’s team is No. 1 singles player Skrypko. The junior took a four-week absence earlier in the season to heal an injury but returned to the lineup against Baylor.
Just behind Skrypko, teammates Murgier and David Kuczer have shared the No. 2 singles spot with Murgier sporting an 0-3 record and Kuczer going 1-4.
Further down is freshman Robin Faghen, whose solid record of 6-3 includes wins at positions No. 2 through No. 6. He also pairs with Oivind Alver in doubles, maintaining a record of 3-3 in dual matches.
Both SMU teams hit the road to face conference opponents after TCU with the men traveling to Tulsa and the women taking on Houston, both on March 11.
