Balancing school, sports and a social life in college is trouble enough. Combine that with the pressure of trying to win for not only your own reward, but also your partner’s reputation, and even more pressure is thrown into the mix.
From Lewisville, Texas, sophomore Pavi Francis came to SMU boasting an already impressive resume. Francis was a three-time UIL Texas 5A State Single Champion from Flower Mound Marcus High School. Francis was also the Texas Open Singles Champion, and was ranked as the No. 14 player in national polls, and one of the top five players in Texas.
Francis reached the quarterfinal round in the Winter Nationals, and was also a two-time Dallas Morning News Tennis Player of the Year and Athlete of the Year. Francis graduated with a 102-3 record after training at the Brookhaven Tennis Academy in Dallas.
Achieving a national ranking for the first time in her career, Francis is considered one of the top players on the SMU women’s tennis team. With regular-season playing ending last weekend in a win over Louisiana-Lafayette, Francis continues to prepare herself for the Conference USA Women’s Tennis Championships in Houston.
“Francis is one of the most talented athletes to come through this program in a long time,” said Longbotham-Meisner in a press release on Smumustangs.com at the beginning of the season. “Pavi is only limited by herself. I expect her to be a leader and play at the top of the lineup in both singles and doubles.”
Francis exceeded her coach’s expectations as she and Bubien dominated the court, even defeating the top-ranked doubles team in the country, Notre Dame. The win marked the pair’s fourth consecutive match. Francis played on to almost defeat Notre Dame’s Brook Buck, but the match was cancelled because of the Irish’s flight schedule. Despite an overall loss to the Irish, the pair’s reputation skyrocketed.
“Beating the No. 1 doubles team in the country is a big achievement, and shows exactly what we are capable of,” said Longbotham-Meisner in a press release.
The following week, Francis earned the No. 41 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls before heading into a match against Rice.
In the fall of 2007, Francis advanced to 32nd in the ITA Regionals after defeating TCU in a singles match. Francis also made it to the quarterfinal round in doubles, with partner Kristen Reid. Advancing deeper into the season with Reid, Francis picked up a win in doubles at the HEB Baylor Invitational and advanced to the final 16 in the singles bracket of the invite.
Francis’ fall season wrapped up with a win over teammate Bubien at the Rice Invitational in a draw.
As a freshman, Francis settled at the No. 4 spot, posting a 13-2 record. Francis finished 19-5 in singles, and won three matches at the No. 3 doubles spot with Chay before advancing to No. 2 with a 15-8 record. Francis opened and closed her freshman season with four-game winning streaks.
In April 2007, Francis received Conference USA Player of the Week honors after she posted her 10th win at the No. 2 doubles spot.
In her first fall season on the Hilltop, Francis won Flight Green of the Mean Green Invitational after winning four consecutive matches. Francis also advanced to round 32 of the ITA Regionals with partner Bubien.
Francis and her teammates will end their season April 18-20 at the C-USA Women’s Tennis Championships. SMU earned the No. 4 seed, granting it a first-round bye.
SMU’s first match will be against the No. 5 seed, Southern Miss, on Friday morning. The match marks the first meeting between the teams, with the winner going on to play Saturday morning.
The Mustangs’ seeding ensures that SMU is guaranteed to finish no lower than in a fifth-place tie within the conference. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
