April showers didn’t stop the SMU women’s tennis team from taking down the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the Conference USA Championships’ quarterfinals on Friday. However, a Hurricane of sorts blew through the John E. Hoff Courts in Houston on Saturday, ending the Mustangs’ season.
SMU’s match against the Golden Eagles was temporarily delayed because of rain, but when they finally took the courts, the Mustangs rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win, 4-1. Less than 24 hours later, the No. 48 Tulsa Golden Hurricane, which went on to win the tournament’s championship, toppled the Mustangs, 4-0.
SMU (11-10) took all three doubles matches against Southern Miss, and three of the five singles matches that were completed.
The No. 40 pair of Natalia Bubien and Pavi Francis improved to 15-4 this season at No. 1 doubles with an 8-5 victory over Brittany Serrett and Stephanie Dellocono. Kristen Reid and Nicole Briceno kept the wins coming at the No. 2 spot, defeating Lauren Gutterman and Sherry Price, 8-5. Sarah Acosta and Lindsey Norman slipped past Ali Blackett and Shannon Rogers, 9-8, in the No. 3 match.
SMU quickly saw its 1-0 advantage slip to a 2-1 deficit when it suffered losses in the Nos. 5 and 6 matches. Gutterman defeated Acosta, 6-2, 6-1, in the No. 6 slot. Norman fell to Zoe Lee, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 5.
However, the Mustangs rebounded to win their next three and advance to Saturday’s semifinal round.
The No. 105-ranked Bubien made quick work of Price in the No. 1 match, coasting to a 6-2, 6-4 victory. Francis dispatched Blackett, 6-0, 6-3, at No. 2. Briceno had an equally impressive 6-3, 6-1 victory over Serrett in the No. 3 match.
The Mustangs couldn’t keep their momentum going on Saturday, as they dug themselves into a hole against the Golden Hurricane and weren’t able to recover.
Tulsa quickly took the doubles point, thanks to impressive work by its No. 2 and 3 teams. Marta Marcinkowska and Thalia Diaz-Barriga doubled-up Reid and Briceno, 8-4, at No. 2. Rebecca Row and Jie Zeng toppled Acosta and Norman, 8-1, in the No. 3 match.
SMU’s deficit climbed to 3-0 when Norman and Acosta took losses in the No. 5 and 6 matches, respectively. Then the Mustangs’ season came to an end when Bubien was upset by the No. 125-ranked Alexandra Kichoutkin, 7-5, 6-1, in the No. 1 match.
Interestingly, none of the Mustangs’ weekend matches went beyond two sets.
The loss capped SMU’s roller-coaster season, in which it started 8-2, then went on a seven-match slide, finishing the regular season on a two-match winning streak. The Mustangs started the season ranked No. 57 but fell from the polls after losing personnel to injuries.
The highlight of the season came when Bubien and Francis defeated the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the country, Notre Dame’s Kelcy Tefft and Brook Buck, on March 24. Bubien, a junior, and Francis, a sophomore, will have high expectations going into next season. The Mustangs are set to return every player from their nine-person roster.
